Saffron Robe: How One Story in Laos Became a Film About Faith, Education, and Resilience
- Evan Snow
- 6 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Some films begin with a plan. Others begin with a moment.
For filmmaker Jane Centofante, her Saffron Robe documentary began during what was meant to be a simple journey. A first trip to Southeast Asia. A desire to see new places. A visit to an old friend. Then Luang Prabang changed everything.
Nestled in northern Laos, the city’s quiet streets, golden temples, and saffron-robed monks revealed something Centofante realized most people in the West rarely see or understand: the deep, enduring role Buddhism plays in Lao life, especially after decades of war, hardship, and isolation.
“As an editor, I’ve always been drawn to storytelling,” she says. “Standing in Luang Prabang, surrounded by layers of living history, I felt this was a story that needed to be told.”
That moment became the spark for Saffron Robe.
Finding the Heart of the Story
While traveling through Laos, Centofante encountered many compelling stories. One stood out above all others.
Abbot Onekeo.
A humble yet determined Buddhist monk, Abbot Onekeo had quietly taken on an extraordinary task. Without government approval or funding, he founded a school for young novice monks in one of the poorest regions of northern Laos, offering education, structure, and spiritual grounding to boys who otherwise had little access to opportunity.
“He embodies what we hoped would define this story,” Centofante explains. “Courage, faith, and sacrifice.”
The film follows the Abbot and the boys in his care, but it also honors the families behind them. Parents who send their children away from home. Boys who commit themselves to a demanding life of study, discipline, and spiritual practice at a young age. Each choice rooted in hope for a better future.
What emerged was not just a portrait of one monk or one monastery, but a deeply human story about education as an act of faith.
Confronting a Forgotten History
To fully understand Abbot Onekeo’s work, Saffron Robe looks beyond the present and into Laos’s past.
The film explores the long shadow cast by the Vietnam War and the U.S. “Secret War” in Laos, one of the most heavily bombed campaigns in history, yet still largely unknown to Western audiences. This period devastated the country and suppressed spiritual life for decades, including Theravada Buddhism, the tradition at the heart of Lao culture.
“To talk honestly about a revival, you have to ask what caused that spiritual life to be suppressed in the first place,” Centofante says.
That history is not abstract. It shaped Abbot Onekeo’s childhood and directly influenced his life’s work. By placing this context alongside the monastery’s present-day efforts, the film connects global history to individual lives in a way that feels both intimate and urgent.
Filming Under Constraint
Bringing Saffron Robe to life was not easy.
Filming inside a remote Buddhist monastery under a communist regime came with significant challenges. Official permits could take years, with no guarantee of approval. Instead, Centofante and her team returned quietly over the course of five years, filming in small increments whenever possible.
Even then, fear lingered.
Many monks and community members were hesitant to speak openly on camera, concerned about potential repercussions if their words were seen as misaligned with official doctrine. Interviews often remained guarded, with important context left unspoken.
These limitations ultimately shaped the film’s structure. To provide historical and cultural clarity for Western audiences, the filmmakers incorporated narration, allowing the story to be told without placing additional risk on the people living it.
“It wasn’t the film we originally imagined,” Centofante admits, “but it became the film the circumstances required.”
What Saffron Robe Leaves Behind
At its core, Saffron Robe is about more than Buddhism or Laos.
It is about the universal desire for education. About parents sacrificing comfort for possibility. About communities finding resilience through faith and shared responsibility. And about how quiet acts of courage can ripple outward in meaningful ways.
Centofante hopes audiences unfamiliar with Laos or Theravada Buddhism leave the film feeling both informed and connected.
“In a time of so much uncertainty and turmoil,” she says, “we hope viewers come away with a sense of quiet hope. That resilience, community, and faith can still create real change.”
Through Abbot Onekeo and the boys of his monastery, Saffron Robe opens a window into a small corner of the world and reminds us that the pursuit of a better future often begins with belief, patience, and the courage to begin.
How to See Saffron Robe at FLIFF40
Saffron Robe will screen as part of the 40th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival at Savor Cinema on Saturday, February 21 at 11:30am.
The screening will feature a special appearance by Director Jane Centofante, offering audiences the opportunity to engage directly with the filmmaker behind this powerful documentary.
The festival runs February 20 through February 28, 2026.
Viewers can receive 5 dollars off each ticket by using the discount code FLIFF2026SE at checkout.
This event is sponsored in part by Choose954 & CreativeZen Talks.
For tickets and full festival details, visit www.fliff.com
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