Director: Jean-Paul Mertinez
Cast includes: Hugh Bonneville
In Honour of the 90th Birthday of the Dalai Lama - plus Q&A with actress and producer, Rani Singh
94 mins /2022 / Tibet

Screening as part of our Buddhist Film Festival 2025.

One of the most significant moments in 20th Century history, His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama reveals the details of his incredible escape into exile for the first time on film and in his own words with the Indian political officer who led him to safety, Har Mander Singh.

Featuring the Dalai Lama himself, members of his family, the Tibetan community in exile and those with historic ties to Tibet, the film explores the Dalai Lama's compassion for a world seemingly in crisis today and seeks to find what can be learnt from his inspirational life story, the Tibetan culture, and its ancient spirituality.

Narrated by Hugh Bonneville with original music by Anoushka Shankar.

Special guest Rani Singh 

Rani SinghRani Singh (Ex-Eastenders actress and BBC Presenter, author and journalist), who features in the film, and is Executive Producer, co-writer, and the niece of the esteemed Har Mander Singh, who is central to the story and very sadly passed away after filming, will be attending the screening to provide an introduction and short Q&A.

Rani has worked as a correspondent for many of the world’s leading media organisations including the BBC, Sky and Al Jazeera. This is the first feature-length documentary she’s worked on and her family story acts as the thread through which the full feature length film is woven around. Rani's family and the escape story become the entry point into the wider world of Tibetan Buddhism, and it asks what we might be able to learn from Tibetan culture and spirituality.

“I can’t wait to get out there. It’s not everyday you get to meet the Dalai Lama or indeed my uncle!” - Quote from the film

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