Becoming Who I Was (2017)

2017-09-271h 36m

Angdu is no ordinary boy. Indeed, in a past life he was a venerated Buddhist master. His village already treats him like a saint as a result. The village doctor, who has taken the boy under his wing, prepares him to be able to pass on his wisdom. Alas, Tibet, Angdu’s former homeland and the centre of his faith, lies far away from his current home in the highlands of Northern India. On top of that, the conflict between China and Tibet makes the prospect of a trip there even more daunting. Undeterred by these harsh facts, the duo set off for their destination on foot, accompanied by questions of friendship and the nature of life. With its narrative approach steeped in a serene sense of concentration, this documentary film, composed over a period of eight years, stands as a fundamental experience in its own right.

Related Movies

602640-thumbnail

The Road Leads to Tibet (1956)

1264172-thumbnail

Bhutan: Following in the Footsteps of Matthieu Ricard (2024)

Buddhist monk and photographer Matthieu Picard as he returns to the Asian country in the Himalayas where he spent a decade after seven years away, revisiting breathtaking landscapes and experiencing local traditions.

4140-thumbnail

Blindsight (2006)

Six blind Tibetan teenagers climb the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Mount Everest, led by seven-summit blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer.

1265775-thumbnail

When the Road Ends (2020)

Growing up in poverty as a child, Dylan dreamt of travelling the world on a motorcycle. Many years later he broke the shackles of a normal life and took to the road. After journeying 200,000km across four continents, the road from Panama to Colombia comes to an end, swallowed up by an impenetrable jungle. Dylan has no choice but to take to the sea, building a raft powered by his motorcycle engine in the hope of reaching Colombia's road network 700km away. He must brave strong ocean currents and storm batterings in his journey from Central to South America.—Journeyman Pictures

253292-thumbnail

Harmontown (2014)

A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.

255554-thumbnail

Journey to the West (2014)

In 2014, Tsai Ming-Liang was invited to make a film for the MarseilleFID, Marseille International Film Festival. Since he was not familiar with Marseille, he decided to make a film as tourist, capturing the beautiful Mediterranean sunshine in the late summer of that year. He also invited famous French actor, Denis Lavant, to appear alongside Lee Kang-Sheng playing Xuanzang. "Journey to the West" was invited to be the opening short film at the Berlin International Film Festival the same year.

250833-thumbnail

Happiness (2014)

Peyangki is a dreamy and solitary eight-year-old monk living in Laya, a Bhutanese village perched high in the Himalayas. Soon the world will come to him: the village is about to be connected to electricity, and the first television will flicker on before Peyangki's eyes.

250862-thumbnail

Daughters of Wisdom (2007)

An intimate portrait of the nuns of Kala Rongo, a rare and exceptional Buddhist Monastery exclusively for women situated in Nangchen, in remote and rural northeastern Tibet. These nuns are receiving religious and educational training previously unavailable to women, and playing an unprecedented role in preserving their rich cultural heritage even as they slowly reshape it. They graciously allow the camera a never-before-seen glimpse into their vibrant spiritual community and insight into their extraordinary lives. Some shy, some outspoken, all are committed to the often difficult life they have chosen, away from the yak farms and herding families of their birth. It is the story of their spiritual community, one that couldn't have existed 20 years ago but is thriving today.

427370-thumbnail

A Story Worth Living (2016)

Six novice riders-father, sons and friends-take on the Colorado backcountry on BMW F800GS adventure bikes to create a film about life, meaning and the longing to be part of something epic that is written on every human heart. John Eldredge, author of the New York Times best-seller Wild at Heart (4 million copies sold) and his three sons are joined by two friends for a thousand-mile ride through the best dual-sport tracks the Centennial State has to offer, serving up a thoughtful documentary on life's deepest questions.

594330-thumbnail

Buddha in Africa (2019)

Enock is six years old when he is taken to a Confucian Buddhist orphanage and given the Chinese name Alu. He becomes extremely skilled in acrobatics. Suddenly he must make a choice to reunite with the culture of Africa or to sign up for five years in order to study in Taiwan.

424913-thumbnail

Compassion in Exile: The Story of the 14th Dalai Lama (1993)

A portrait of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, which includes historical footage of China's repression of Tibetan Buddhism in 1959.

10884-thumbnail

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (2006)

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

426324-thumbnail

1000 Hands of the Guru (2016)

Four monks, a royal scholar, and their American guru are fighting to save Bhutan's sacred arts while learning the art of letting go.

1107816-thumbnail

Les Danses de Tami (1955)

1278145-thumbnail

Chodorkowskis neue Freiheit (2016)

Released from prison, former oil oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky expounds on his newfound freedom and complex relationship with Vladimir Putin.

596890-thumbnail

Tenzo (2019)

To address the social crisis, Chiken - a buddhist monk - throws himself into various tasks such as a suicide helpline, in his temple in Yamanashi. In Fukushima, his old mate Ryûgyô - whose temple was wrecked by the tsunami - lives in a portacabin and works on construction sites.

1278741-thumbnail

August (2024)

The documentary marks the directorial debut of Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan, it documents his deeply personal journey of self-healing in the aftermath of a devastating cyber media storm in August 2021 that abruptly halted his acting career.

430684-thumbnail

Cherry Blossom Time in Japan (1936)

In this Traveltalk short, the symbolic role of cherry blossoms in Japanese culture is explored as well as the traditional Japanese religions of Shintoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.

1275633-thumbnail

Refuge (1972)

A documentary about the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in London.

2049-thumbnail

How to Cook Your Life (2007)

A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life.