Kang Rinpoche - Paths of the Soul

In a small Tibetan village, Nyima and his uncle Yang decide to undertake a "bowing pilgrimage" to the holy city of Lhasa and the sacred Kang's Mountain. Joining them is a group of 11 people. They set out on a journey lasting months through all kinds of weather over a distance of 2,000 kilometers on foot. Wearing large aprons of animal skin as well as wooden blocks on their hands for protection, they lay their bodies flat on the ground after every few steps. This Buddhist ritual is partly intended as penance and partly for the peace of mind of others. Each traveler is on this journey for a specific reason: One needs to cleanse bad family karma; another, a butcher, wants to wash the animals' bloodstains from his soul; another pilgrim, sensing the end is near, hopes that prayers and prostrations will break the chain of cause and effect determined by his life's actions. Shot in a documentary style over the course of an entire year, director Zhang Yang (Full Circle, SIFF 2013) worked without a script and used non-professional actors. The result is one of the most gripping and thought-provoking road movies in the history of cinema.