True to Life - a film by William Jobling

LAUNCH - 18.00, 21 December, 2018 at Norsk Taiji Senter

True to Life

True to Life is a cinematic essay portraying the spiritual ideas of Pamela Hiley, a British born Taiji master living in Norway. This is a unique exploration of Daoist philosophy, seen through the eyes of a master practitioner of one of the most sophisticated martial arts in the world. The film is structured as a guided meditation into the spirituality of the Dao, exploring subjects of breathing, balance, defence, neutralising conflict and moving beyond polarity. It also discusses Pamela’s ideas on moving beyond religion and into a more profound connection to what it is to be a spiritual human being. 

The film is shot in Norsk Taiji Senters premisses in the centre of Oslo and on Tron Fjell. The rest was shot on a trip to China that was organised by the Beijing Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries together with Norsk Taiji Senter. Pamela firmly establishes China as the place where Taiji originates from and most of the footage from the trip shows imagery of China full of its ancient symbolism. The dialogue has a focus that is always looking beyond China, towards the universal boundlessness of the Dao. 

The film is made with the hope of creating a deep and intricate understanding of  spiritual ideas, in a clear and simple language. It is also a meeting with a powerful female voice that talks in a compassionate and firm way about how we need to feel the suffering of the poorest child and the weakest mother, and wake up to the feeling that we are all one!

The film is based on one to one dialogue between William Jobling, the director of the film and Pamela Hiley.  

About the director

William Jobling (born 1974) is a filmmaker based in Oslo. William has since his mid 20s had an interest in the mystic traditions of the world. He has studied Shamanism with both the Sami indigenous people of Norway, and the the Kaxinawá people of Brazil. One of his motivations for going into film making has been that he believes that the totality of the filmic experience can open up for more complex discussions on mystical subjects that are often trapped by language and words.