"Shoken"

Documentary short film, April 2017

​

Filmed on high-definition video, edited with Final Cut Pro
Runtime: 12 minutes
Written, directed, produced, edited, filmed, and color graded by Jack Ross

Featuring Shoken Winecoff Roshi
Filmed in Decorah, Iowa
Special thanks to Luther College and Ryumonji Zen Monastery

​

"Shoken" (2017) is a short-subject documentary film on the life of Shoken Winecoff Roshi, a Buddhist monk and founding teacher of the Ryumonji Zen Monastery outside of Decorah, Iowa. Beginning with Shoken’s initial contact many years ago with Zazen meditation and Dainin Katagiri Roshi (1928-1990), a Buddhist monk based in Minneapolis, the film explores his journey to becoming ordained himself as a monk under Katagiri Roshi, and the establishment of the Ryumonji monastery. Through its exploration of Shoken's life experiences and encounter with meditation, as well as greater implications of its practice, we don't just learn about Shoken from merely a biographical perspective; rather, we are brought into his world through sound, motion, action, and drama.