Skip to main content
Monkey on a Stick film image; close on man in sunglasses wearing beige hoodie

Monkey on a Stick

This event has passed

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada decided to bring his version of ancient Hindu scripture to America in the late 1960s. Despite or because of prescriptions against eating meat, engaging in sex or consuming drugs and alcohol, the Hare Krishna movement became hugely popular in the West — with George Harrison among its devotees. Chanting,orange robed, shaven headed pilgrims were ubiquitous in major cities across North America. Yet by the mid 80s the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was embroiled in multiple scandals involving guns, drugs, money laundering, child abuse, and murder…

Adapted from the New York Times best-selling expose Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness, and the Hare Krishnas, Jason Lapeyre’s film uses interviews with former Krishnas and dramatic reenactments to explain how matters spiraled out of control so fast and with such devastating consequences.

 

Oct 31: Q&A with director Jason Lapeyre

Director

Jason Lapeyre

Cast

Brett Wolfe, Kody Poisson

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2024

Language

English

19+
106 min

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits

Cinematography

Keenan Lynch

Editor

Ashley Gilmour, Aaron Marshall, Brina Romanek

Original Music

Todor Kobakov

Also Playing

There's Still Tomorrow

Dir. Paola Cortellesi
118 min

A critical and box office sensation in Italy, Paola Cortellesi's triumphant directorial debut is the tale of a Roman housewife in 1946, who stands up against the routine sexist abuse she suffers. Funny, heartbreaking and inspiring.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Way, My Way

Dir. Bill Bennett
93 min

All manner of pilgrims flock to France and Spain to walk the 800 km Camino de Santiago. One such is Bill, a stroppy sexagenarian Australian filmmaker who's determined to do the Camino with minimal prep, a dickey leg, and no firm idea why.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Stand

Dir. Christopher Auchter
95 min

This rousing doc explores a 1985 dispute over logging in the Haida Gwaii. Taking us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action, director Chris Auchter employs animation and a wealth of archival footage to riveting effect.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Resident Orca

Dir. Sarah Sharkey Pearce & Simon Schneider
97 min

Captured in Puget Sound in 1970, killer whale Lolita spent the next half century in a cramped tank in Seaquarium, Miami. The film follows a coalition of Lummi elders, animal lovers and philanthropists on a rescue mission to return her to the ocean.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre