Documentary Films

Loving Krishna



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by Allen Moore, Ákos Östör and the Film Study Center at Harvard University
color, 37 min, 1985



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Loving Krishna is about the worship of Krishna and the meaning of devotion. It explores the rural and urban character of the town of Vishnapur in West Bengal by examining the royal past, everyday life, work in traditional arts and crafts, bazaar exchange, and sacred rituals and festivals. Public and private devotional life is represented by detailed visual narratives of the Chariot Journey of Krishna, celebrated by the whole town, and the Birthday Festival commemorated on a much smaller scale of intimate family worship.

This film belongs to the Pleasing God series of films about how Hindus worship. These films are studies of the devotional practicies associated with three major deities of the Hindu pantheon. They were made in the small, historic town of Vishnupur, West Bengal - a town of temples, crafts and markets, the center of an old kingdom, and a place where daily life and worship are closely intertwined.

An incredibly in-depth study of Vishnapur by Ákos Östör and Lina Fruzetti can be found at the Wesleyan Learning Objects website. The material directly relating to this film is contained within the Sacred Ritual section under Krishna & Radha.


Other films in the series:
Serpent Mother
Sons of Shiva


Film Festivals, Screenings, Awards
Baltimore Film Festival, 1985