This is a collection of materials drawn from talks, interviews and historic footage which seeks to retell the life of the Dalai Lama and how he got to be the most famous and respected religious leader in the world today.
Brought up from an early age to be the new Dalai Lama, even at the age of 16 he was enthroned as the leader of Tibet, but a Tibet facing very difficult challenges from its larger neighbour China
Eventually, as it looked like the Chinese were intending to arrest or incarcerate him, he was forced to flee to India, where he was given refugee status along with around 100,000 of his followers and fellow workers.
From that position of exile he has sought to maintain Tibetan culture, when all in his home country was being destroyed, and to that extent he has definitely succeeded, with Tibetan culture not only alive and well, but very influential around the world as well.
This film by Tim Nelson seems to have been shot mainly in Dharamsala, where His Holiness now resides, and includes interviews with Tibetan leaders who took part in the uprising against Chinese occupation.
It also addresses the crucial question of what will happen when the present Dalai Lama passes away, and the preparation for the 17th Karmapa to fill the gap until the new incarnation is of age and able to take up the mantle again.
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to see an album of stills click here