Marc. J Francis, Documentary Diaries

Marc J. Francis on the making of ‘Walk With Me in Sound’, and why its upcoming release in collaboration with Penguin Random House and Sounds True is right on time for a world in turmoil.

‘Walk With Me in Sound’ is based on my last documentary film, ‘Walk With Me’, described by the New York Times as “Cooling to the mind and soothing to the spirit”.

Directed with my friend and filmmaker Max Pugh, it’s an immersive exploration into the world-famous monastery of Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh. It features Benedict Cumberbatch who reads extracts from Thich Nhat Hanh’s early journals, as the daily life of monks and nuns on a quest to develop a deep sense of presence, slowly unfolds across the four seasons. The film transmits the energy of mindfulness as practiced by Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastics and becomes a meditation in itself.

It was released in cinemas worldwide and is now on Netflix, Amazon, ITunes and Vimeo.

After the film’s release, I started to feel that there was an opportunity to create an audio-immersive experience, and just before the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world in 2020, I felt a calling to revisit the film material to develop the idea further.

I met up with music producer Matt Coldrick who came on board to help translate the film into a meditative soundscape experience, and over several months we set about experimenting with recordings of nature, monastic chants, Thich Nhat Hanh talks, and the rhythm of time and space until we found the best pathway to create the audio journey.

The soundscape begins with my introduction where I recount for the first time my life-changing experience of having unprecedented access to Thich Nhat Hanh’s monasteries and the Plum Village monastics.

In 2011, when I was invited to explore making a film in the monastery of Thich Nhat Hanh, I was filled with a sense that something was missing in my life, that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I was ‘successful’, but I wasn’t happy and I knew I wanted to change that for myself and for my children.

Within the first moments of seeing Thich Nhat Hanh in a talk to his followers, without prompt, he said:

“The best education you can give your children is to know yourself”

This wisdom pierced through me.

I understood then that choosing to make a film about Thich Nhat Hanh would be a voyage of self-discovery that I desperately needed.

No sooner had we completed making the soundscape, the Coronavirus pandemic had started - causing suffering for so many people around the world. People have lost their jobs, relationships, and loved ones, and communities have lost their social connections.

I realised that Thich Nhat Hanh’s mindfulness teachings are needed more now than ever before. Now is the time to access this kind of wisdom, and these mindfulness tools can help us cultivate a sense of calmness and clarity within the chaos, fear and uncertainty.

Within this audio meditation, you’ll be guided towards feelings of contentment and peace. You’ll receive wisdom, gain perspective and consciousness as well as find a deeper connection with yourself and hopefully our planet as a whole.

High-end stereo monastic chants specially recorded for ‘Walk With Me’ by composer Germaine Franco weave in and out of Benedict Cumberbatch’s readings from passages of Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1960s journals, and snippets of handpicked wisdom from Thich Nhat Hanh’s most poignant talks of recent times drift in and out of the Soundscape journey. These talks include his insights on the importance of connecting to our ancestors, and how to find happiness and presence. His final thoughts touch on his most passionate - the protection of our planet and how to care for it before it’s too late.

Based on his experiences of the horrors of the Vietnam war, Thich Nhat Hanh believes that to truly change anything on the outside, we must change the things inside of us first. "You carry Mother Earth within you," he has said.

“When you wake up and you see that the earth is not just the environment, the earth is in you, you are the Earth, you then touch the nature of inter-being. At that moment you can have real communication with the Earth.

“We need a real awakening, a real enlightenment. We have to change our way of thinking and seeing things - and this is possible.”

When we came up with the title 'Walk With Me’, it was not meant as an invitation to walk or to be a follower of Thich Nhat Hanh or his teachings. Rather, it's an invitation to connect with the deepest part of ourselves, to find and follow our own truths, and get educated on how to live mindfully and lovingly with compassion in action, and with trust and presence so we can walk ourselves back to our true home.

Breathe, listen, and experience ‘Walk With Me in Sound’

Walk With Me in Sound is released by Penguin Random House and Sounds True and is available via Audible, AppleBooks, Google Play.

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