Academy Award nominated HIMALAYA tells the story of a generational struggle for the leadership of a tiny mountain village. A visually striking and spiritually captivating portrait of life in one of the world's most extraordinary places.
Jigme Lhundrup is the Yangsi, the reincarnation of a greatly revered Tibetan Buddhist meditation master. He must train to uphold this legacy from the age of four. Even with the loving support of his teachers and family, questions begin to arise about the place of his tradition in the modern world.
As a boy, Dawa was an illiterate Tibetan nomad whose life revolved around herding yaks. At 13, his life changed: through a series of visions, Dawa acquired the gift of telling the epic story of Tibet's King Gesar. Now, at 35, Dawa receives a salary from the government as a guardian of national cultural heritage and is regarded as a holy man by his community. When an earthquake reduces his hometown to rubble, redevelopment of the region takes a giant leap forward. In the midst of such seismic shifts, Dawa seeks healing from King Gesar and other divine protectors of the land.
An intimate and powerful encounter with one of today's most politically influential artists and the system he challenges.
Travel to the four corners of the world in this visually sumptuous series that captures the best examples of the art and architecture of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Each film brings to life the most significant religious buildings of the three Abrahamic faiths, and enables viewers to enter the lives of the people who worship and celebrate their faith.
The daily life of the Dalai Lama is brought home with remarkable intimacy in Sunrise/Sunset. Granted total access to His Holiness for 24 hours, this is a day in the life of the Dalai Lama from when he wakes up at 3AM until his bedtime at dusk.
Oscar-nominated director Markus Imhoof (The Boat is Full) tackles the vexing issue of why bees, worldwide, are facing extinction. With the tenacity of a man out to solve a world-class mystery, he investigates this global phenomenon, from California to Switzerland, China and Australia. Exquisite macro-photography of the bees (reminiscent of MICROCOSMOS) in flight and in their hives reveals a fascinating, complex world in crisis.
In the 1960s and 1970s thousands of hippies journeyed east to India in search of enlightenment. All, in the end, embraced this land of ancient traditions and transcendent pleasures as their own. Hippie Masala is a fascinating chronicle about aging flower children who, after fleeing Western civilization, found a new way of life in India.
Parvez Sharma risks death to illegally film his Hajj pilgrimage - an act made more daring by the fact that he's gay.
What is the soul? Is it genetically encoded in our DNA or the product of centuries of religious teachings dealing with our mortality? Secrets of the Soul provides a window into the provocative question of what happens when we die. Many believe that something transcends our physical body - for some there might be a scientific answer, for others it's simply a matter of faith.
