A Year in Tibet
★ 10 · 2008
Intimate documentary series following a year in the life of the society living in and around Gyantse, Tibet's third largest town. Through a handful of powerful and engaging characters, follow the reality of daily life for ordinary people living in an extraordinary place - one of the most mysterious and secretive communities in the world. From the hotelier struggling to attract more tourists, to the village shaman who is worried that the rain cannon will put him out of business because the farmers no longer need him to placate the gods, this is a series that fascinates on both a human and emotional level.
Episodes
1. The VisitThe Panchen Lama, the highest ranking Buddhist living in Tibet today, pays an unexpected visit to the local monastery and throws the monks into turmoil. A local hotel owner is worried about the lack business. In the nearby village of Tangmai, a young farmers wife is rushed into hospital with complications with her pregnancy.
2. Three Husbands and a WeddingIt is autumn in southern Tibet and everyone is pulling together to get in the harvest. Like all farmers, Dundan is worried most about hailstones flattening his crops. In the past his brother Tseden, the local shaman, protected the fields with his spells. Now the local government has installed guns to disperse the clouds and this has put Tseden out of a job.
In the nearby town of Gyantse, Rincheu, a local builder, struggles to find enough workers during the harvest to complete his all important first government commission.
In the monastery, the monks recover from a hectic visit by the highest ranking Buddhist Lama in Tibet. After a riotous time celebrating the success of the event, they go home to help with the harvest.
Tseden is also helping a local family to arrange their daughter's wedding. Despite months of preparation, nobody actually gets around to telling the bride she is going to be wed - nor does anybody mention that she is expected to marry her husband's brother as well.
3. Faith, Hope and CharityThe monks begin preparations for New Year, one of Tibet's biggest festivals. Lhakpa, a local rickshaw driver, struggles to earn money as winter approaches. He embarks on a scheme to buy and sell puppies, with disastrous consequences.
Hotel owner Jianzang gets involved in a court case which has a surprising outcome. In Tangmai, the doctor cannot cure Lhamo's crippling stomach pains.
4. Monks Behaving BadlyIn the Pel Kor monastery, the director Choephel discovers that some irreplaceable statues have been stolen and the theft gives the local Communist Party an excuse to put in a government 'work team' to weed out monks they think are behaving badly. Lhakpa heads north in search of a lucrative job on a building site, and Butri gets an unpleasant surprise as she approaches her retirement.
5. A Tale of Three MonksDeputy head lama Tsultrim has to juggle running the monastery whilst complying with a myriad of government restrictions. Young monk Tsephun lives and works with his master Dondrup, a curmudgeonly old lama. Tsephun helps his master with the day-to-day jobs of cleaning and tidying; in return, Dondrup teaches Tsephun the sutras and scriptures, an essential part of becoming a monk.More Like This
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