- Occupation
Director - Country
Poland
Kuciewicz Dariusz
Si Fu - Master
A portrait of Marcus Bongart, a refugee from the communist Poland, who traveled the world in search of knowledge about QI -life energy and, having reached China, became a monk in the Shaolin monastery. There are 262 monks in the Shaolin monastery. Since WWII, all of them have been Chinese – with one exception. This single foreigner is Marcus Bongart, a Pole, the hero of our film. Since early youth, his craving for freedom and knowledge led him out into the world. At 14, he tries to escape from the communist Poland to Sweden in a self-made boat. Although caught by border guards, he continues his attempts at escape for the next four years. He is put on trial, during which he flees from the court building by sliding down a gutter. He makes it into the West hidden in a truck of chemicals. When in Sweden, he launches a network of shops selling Bongart jeans, which he himself designs. In 1971, while in an American hospital, he comes across Qigong, the ancient Chinese art of self-healing through the attraction of vital energy. He watches self-healing of patients with cancer. The desire to learn about energy sets Marcus off on a journey around the world. He explores the knowledge of shamans in Mexico, studies Huna in Hawaii and plumbs the mysteries of healers in the Philippines. He witnesses hard-to-explain phenomena: surgeries without instruments and instantaneous closing up of wounds. He studies Chinese medicine and becomes a doctor. His energetic skills grow with time. He begins to heal with energy through Fa Gong, the emission of energy streams towards the sick person accompanied by trembling of the body and a release of emotions. In Beijing, he is adopted by the Great Master Wu Lee and receives the title of a Qigong master in the style of Six Secret Words. During a visit to Shaolin, he suddenly realises that the ritual he is participating in is a ceremony of his admittance into the monastery. He has a few minutes to make a decision. Without hesitation, he becomes a monk. In Malaysian jungle he experiences shocking visions, which lead him beyond the structures of consciousness. Marcus believes we can do much more than we realise and that we are only limited by our lack of faith. He now lives in Yangtorp in Sweden, where he is converting a farm into a center for Chinese medicine and Qigong. He drives a tractor, makes cement tiles and struggles with financial problems. Crushed by the prosaic aspects of life, he dreams about an opportunity to work on self-improvement in a secluded place.
A portrait of Marcus Bongart, a refugee from the communist Poland, who traveled the world in search of knowledge about QI -life energy and, having reached China, became a monk in the Shaolin monastery. There are 262 monks in the Shaolin monastery. Since WWII, all of them have been Chinese – with one exception. This single foreigner is Marcus Bongart, a Pole, the hero of our film. Since early youth, his craving for freedom and knowledge led him out into the world. At 14, he tries to escape from the communist Poland to Sweden in a self-made boat. Although caught by border guards, he continues his attempts at escape for the next four years. He is put on trial, during which he flees from the court building by sliding down a gutter. He makes it into the West hidden in a truck of chemicals. When in Sweden, he launches a network of shops selling Bongart jeans, which he himself designs. In 1971, while in an American hospital, he comes across Qigong, the ancient Chinese art of self-healing through the attraction of vital energy. He watches self-healing of patients with cancer. The desire to learn about energy sets Marcus off on a journey around the world. He explores the knowledge of shamans in Mexico, studies Huna in Hawaii and plumbs the mysteries of healers in the Philippines. He witnesses hard-to-explain phenomena: surgeries without instruments and instantaneous closing up of wounds. He studies Chinese medicine and becomes a doctor. His energetic skills grow with time. He begins to heal with energy through Fa Gong, the emission of energy streams towards the sick person accompanied by trembling of the body and a release of emotions. In Beijing, he is adopted by the Great Master Wu Lee and receives the title of a Qigong master in the style of Six Secret Words. During a visit to Shaolin, he suddenly realises that the ritual he is participating in is a ceremony of his admittance into the monastery. He has a few minutes to make a decision. Without hesitation, he becomes a monk. In Malaysian jungle he experiences shocking visions, which lead him beyond the structures of consciousness. Marcus believes we can do much more than we realise and that we are only limited by our lack of faith. He now lives in Yangtorp in Sweden, where he is converting a farm into a center for Chinese medicine and Qigong. He drives a tractor, makes cement tiles and struggles with financial problems. Crushed by the prosaic aspects of life, he dreams about an opportunity to work on self-improvement in a secluded place.
He studied at the Film/TV Directing Department of the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz (1989-1994) and the Directing Department of the Northern School of Film and Television in Leeds (1994-1995). In 1996 he worked for Wizja Television as a self-promotion producer. Since 1997 collaborated with CANAL+ on promotion and self-promotion. In 1998 produced 15-minute documentaries for Polish TV (TVP). In 2000 he produced short features for the cultural magazine Pegaz (Pegasus). In 2002 he directed the one-hour TV film Gwiazdy i los człowieka (The Stars and the Fate of Man).