Challenging Impossibility

Last updated
Challenging Impossibility
ChallengingImpossibility small flyer.jpg
Directed byNatabara Rollosson and Sanjay Rawal
Produced by Sanjay Rawal, Mridanga Spencer and Natabara Rollosson
Cinematography Sanjay Rawal
Edited by Sanjay Rawal
Music byParichayaka Hammerl
Release date
  • April 22, 2011 (2011-04-22)
Running time
28 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Challenging Impossibility is a 2011 documentary film which chronicles the weightlifting odyssey of the spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy, who in 1985 at the age of 54 took up weightlifting and performing feats of strength using the power of meditation. His lifts were featured on newscasts worldwide, inspiring people to transcend their personal limitations and to abandon their concepts of the restrictions of physical age. Directed by Natabara Rollosson and Sanjay Rawal. The film was an Official Selection of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and premiered April 22, 2011.

Contents

Synopsis

The subject of Challenging Impossibility is the weightlifting odyssey of Sri Chinmoy, a spiritual teacher who came from India to live in New York City and began lifting weights at the age of 54. The film features news footage and interviews with bodybuilders, strongmen, olympians, and biomechanics experts. [1] The film follows a historical narrative that builds upon a public display of strength that Sri Chinmoy performed in 2004 at York College.

Starting out with basic dumbbells (40 lbs) in 1985, Sri Chinmoy quickly progressed to lift cars, planes and elephants in an effort to show how meditation can develop inner peace that can translate to tangible outer power and strength. Along Chinmoy’s journey of “self-transcendence” he honored and inspired individuals who have uplifted humanity by literally lifting them on a platform above the head in an award program titled "Lifting Up the World with a Oneness-Heart". From its creating in 1987, Sri Chinmoy lifted over 7000 people, including Nelson Mandela, [2] Desmond Tutu [3] Muhammad Ali, Sting, Eddie Murphy, Susan Sarandon, Roberta Flack, Yoko Ono, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Gere. [4]

Chinmoy’s training culminated when he held a public demonstration of his feats of strength at age 73 in the presence of strength experts such as 5-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl, 3-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane, 2002 World’s Strongest Man Hugo Girard and 9-time Olympic Gold-Medalist Carl Lewis. In the film, Lewis described how when Sri Chinmoy lifted weights, “It’s like gravity stops”. [5] Chinmoy’s lifts were featured on newscasts worldwide on outlets such as CNN, CNN International, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and numerous local affiliates. Chinmoy performed his own strenuous feats to spread his message of world harmony and inner peace, [6] to inspire people to transcend their personal limitations and to abandon their concepts of the restrictions of physical age. Appearances in the film also include Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and Princess Diana.

Premiere

The film premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 22, 2011, in a new bracket of inspiring short documentaries in which "positive thinking prevails". [7] At the premier, Carl Lewis described how Sri Chinmoy encouraged him to transcend his own personal limitations. "Sri Chinmoy inspired me, and he's followed my career, actually he's one of the few people that had been to all four of my Olympic Games...when you were in his presence it was always positive, you never heard anything negative, he was always inspiring you to be better than yourself and think about other people." [5] Also in attendance for the premier were Frank Zane, Hugo Girard, Nadine Tremblay, and Wayne DeMilia, who all appear in the film.

Exhibit

A pop-up exhibition of Chinmoy’s weightlifting equipment that appeared in the film. The exhibit coincided with the premier of the film in Tribeca from April 15 to May 2, 2011. [6]

On display were numerous custom-made machines, such as a standing calf raise machine which Sri Chinmoy used to set a record of lifting 2,400 pounds, "the equivalent of lifting an elevator packed full of people". [8] Among the machines was also the apparatus Sri Chinmoy used to lift people in his "Lifting Up the World with a Oneness-Heart" program, which he used to honor individuals of inspiration by lifting them overhead on a platform.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Chinmoy</span> Indian writer and guru

Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, better known as Sri Chinmoy, was an Indian spiritual leader who taught meditation in the United States after moving to New York City in 1964. Chinmoy established his first meditation center in Queens, New York, and eventually had 7,000 students in 60 countries. A prolific author, artist, poet, and musician, he also held public events such as concerts and meditations on the theme of inner peace. Chinmoy advocated a spiritual path to God through prayer and meditation. He advocated athleticism including distance running, swimming, and weightlifting. He organized marathons and other races, and was an active runner and, following a knee injury, weightlifter. Some ex-members have accused Chinmoy of running a cult.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Zane</span> American bodybuilder

Frank Zane is a retired American professional bodybuilder and author. He is a three-time Mr. Olympia, and his physique is considered one of the greatest in the history of bodybuilding due to his meticulous focus on symmetry and proportion. He was inducted in the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashrita Furman</span> American Guinness World Records record-breaker

Ashrita Furman is a Guinness World Records record-breaker. As of 2017, Furman has set more than 600 official Guinness Records and currently holds 530 records, thus holding the Guinness world record for the most Guinness world records. He has been breaking records since 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Pearl</span> American bodybuilder (1930–2022)

William Arnold Pearl was an American professional bodybuilder and athlete. During the 1950s and 60s, he won many titles and awards, including winning the Mr. Universe contest five times, and was named "World's Best-Built Man of the Century". He later became an expert trainer and author on bodybuilding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Anderson (weightlifter)</span> American weightlifter (1932–1994)

Paul Edward Anderson was an American weightlifter, strongman, and powerlifter. He was an Olympic gold medalist, a world champion, and a two-time national champion in Olympic weightlifting. Anderson contributed significantly to the development of competitive powerlifting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tribeca Festival</span> Annual film festival held in New York, US

The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2002 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of Lower Manhattan following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Until 2020, the festival was known as the Tribeca Film Festival.

<i>Love Devotion Surrender</i> 1973 studio album by Santana & McLaughlin

Love Devotion Surrender is an album released in 1973 by guitarists Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, with the backing of their respective bands, Santana and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album was inspired by the teachings of Sri Chinmoy and intended as a tribute to John Coltrane. It contains two Coltrane compositions, two McLaughlin songs, and a traditional gospel song arranged by Santana and McLaughlin. It was certified Gold in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race</span> Worlds longest certified footrace

The Self-Transcendence 3100 mile race is the world's longest certified footrace. In 1996 Sri Chinmoy created this event as a 2,700-mile (4,345 km) race. At the award ceremony that year he declared that the 1997 edition would be extended to 3,100 miles (4,989 km).

Michael Katz is a former American IFBB professional bodybuilder and former professional football player with the New York Jets, most famous for his appearance with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1977 bodybuilding documentary film Pumping Iron. He was paid $1,000 to sign a release for appearing in the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Hatkoff</span> American real estate investor and philanthropist

Craig M. Hatkoff is an American real estate investor from New York City. Along with his now ex-wife Jane Rosenthal, and Robert De Niro, he co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Institute in 2002. The three were recipients of the inaugural September 11 National Museum and Memorial Foundation "Notes of Hope Award" for Distinction in Rebuilding in September 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann Görner</span>

Hermann Görner, was a famous German strongman. Görner performed in various countries and achieved feats of strength rarely matched to this day, most notably in lifts requiring exceptional grip strength.

<i>Ball Dont Lie</i> 2008 film directed by Brin Hill

Ball Don't Lie is a 2008 film directed by Brin Hill. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, written by Matt de la Peña. It stars AND1 Mixtape team member Grayson Boucher, a.k.a. The Professor. The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

<i>Native New Yorker</i> (film) 2005 short film by Steve Bilich

Native New Yorker (2005) is the title of the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival Best Documentary Short by Steve Bilich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weightlifting</span> Sport or exercise

Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can include: developing physical strength; promoting health and fitness; competing in weightlifting sports; and developing a muscular and aesthetic physique.

<i>American Mystic</i> 2010 American film

American Mystic is a 2010 American documentary film by writer-director Alex Mar. It premiered in the documentary competition at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.

Sanjay Rawal is an Indian-American documentary film director who lives in New York City. His first feature length film Food Chains premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in its Culinary Cinema Programme in 2014 and had its US premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Food Chains was produced by Smriti Keshari, Eva Longoria, Eric Schlosser, and Rawal himself. Forest Whitaker narrates. Rawal was a winner of the 2015 James Beard Foundation Award for Special/Documentary for Food Chains. The film itself shared the 2016 BritDoc Documentary Impact Award.

Jerry Rothwell is a British documentary filmmaker best known for the award-winning feature docs How to Change the World (2015), Town of Runners (2012), Donor Unknown (2010), Heavy Load (2008) and Deep Water (2006). All of his films have been produced by Al Morrow of Met Film.

<i>3100: Run and Become</i> 2018 American film

3100: Run and Become is a documentary about why people run, with portraits of runners and what motivates them. It was directed by Sanjay Rawal.

<i>Earthrise</i> (film) American film

Earthrise is a 2018 documentary by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee. The film tells the story of the first image captured of the Earth from space in 1968, as recalled by the Apollo 8 astronauts. The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2018 and had its online premiere on the New York Times Op-Docs and the PBS Series, POV, on October 2, 2018. In 2018, it won the Audience Award at AFI DOCS and won Best Documentary Short at Raindance Film Festival. After airing on PBS, it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Short Documentary at the 40th News and Documentary Emmy Award.

<i>The Half of It</i> 2020 film by Alice Wu

The Half of It is a 2020 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Alice Wu. It stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, and Alexxis Lemire, with Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, and Collin Chou in supporting roles. Teenager Ellie Chu agrees to write a love letter for a jock while falling for his crush. Netflix released the film on May 1, 2020, to positive reviews. The film received the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.

References

  1. "Tribeca Interview: Challenging Impossibility Directors Sanjay Rawal and Natabara Rollosson". Cinema Blend. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  2. Video of Mandela and Chinmoy on YouTube
  3. Video of Desmond Tutu and Sri Chinmoy] published Sri Chinmoy TV
  4. Kilgannon, Corey (2004-07-01). "They're Not Heavy; They're His People; 72-Year-Old Sri Chinmoy Offers An Uplift Beyond the Spiritual". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  5. 1 2 "Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Lewis talks 'Challenging Impossibility' and Olivia Wilde talks Haiti". The Source . Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  6. 1 2 Kilgannon, Corey (April 25, 2011). "A Monument to Strength as a Path to Enlightenment". The New York Times . Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  7. "Tribeca Film Guide". Tribeca Film Festival . Archived from the original on 2011-03-24. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  8. "Spiritual Guru's Strength On Display in Tribeca". NY1 . Archived from the original on May 30, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.