BUDDHA’S BERGWÜSTE - tibets beheimes erbe im himalaya
BUDDHA’S BERGWÜSTE - tibets beheimes erbe im himalaya
TINA RADKE-GERLACH
Germany / 1998 / 53'
BUDDHA’S BERGWÜSTE - tibets beheimes erbe im himalaya
TINA RADKE-GERLACH
Germany / 1998 / 53'

The Kinnaur and Spiti regions, lying in the shadow of the great giants in the Indian Himalayas, have always been an unrealisable dream. The daily life of the inhabitants of this bordeland, once part of Tibet, is distinguished by strange and mysterious rituals. Ancient convents, among the oldest monuments of Tibetan Buddhism in the world, still conserve evidence of a special spiritual universe. In the highest mountain regions the monks preserve the heritage of Tibetan animism. The director Tina Radke-Gerlach and her team took over two years to obtain permission from the Indian authorities to film in this politically delicate borderland barred to foreigners for over forty years. Thanks to the support of the Dalai Lama they were able to use the telecamera in places never filmed before, such as the ancient treasure room. The team follows the traces of the teachings of Rhincen Zangpo, a holy man who was responsible for the spread of Buddhism in Tibet over 1.000 years ago and for the construction of over 100 convents. The journey is a pilgrimage among the popular and ritual Shamanistic traditions and holy festivals now existing only in the Spirit region.

Director

TINA RADKE-GERLACH