Paths of the Soul

A group of Tibetans of all ages and from different families join together to make a pilgrimage from their home village to Lhasa, a treacherous 2,000-kilometer trek at high elevations. Each makes the spiritual journey for their own reasons -- one man, now elderly, may never have another opportunity, and a younger man seeks to change his fate. Over the course of an arduous journey that requires prostration after every few steps, they encounter many obstacles -- a broken tractor, snow, exhaustion, sickness, a birth -- but the ordeal never breaks their communal resolve. This unique blend of fiction and documentary was shot with nonprofessional actors over the course of a year.