(1 × 50’) BBC 2
Strand: EVERYMAN
Narrator: Nadia Sawalha
Producer/Directors: Sunandan Walia & Yugesh Walia
Assistant Producer: Anna Sommerville
Photography: Chris Cox / Philip Chavannes
Film Editor: Paul Jackson
Series Editor: Ruth Pitt
This film follows three Buddhists who are about to undertake life-changing journeys.
Abhayakirti, born Jewish and a Buddhist convert, spends 6 days in Auschwitz concentration camp trying to come to terms with the horrors of the Jewish genocide that killed members of his family. “I felt absolute rage about what happened at the holocaust but I hope I wouldn’t act out of that rage.”
Teresa, a Brazilian scientist, gives up her money and career-orientated life to move into a community with six other female Buddhists. As she throws out the Yves Saint Laurent suits and prepares herself for a life of queuing for the bathroom every morning, she seems positive about what she is doing. What brought about this huge change in her life and what does she get in place of her material possessions?
Bessie, a nurse, began her spiritual journey after visiting a Buddhist centre in London. Now at the age of 26, she is leaving London on a six-month trip to Bodh Gaya in India, the place where Buddha found enlightenment, in the hope of finding further spiritual fulfillment – “It may sound strange to many people but at this time I want to invest in this.”
