THE UNWINKING GAZE
Year: 2008
UK: Mercury Media International
Cast: The Dalai Lama
Director: Joshua Dugdale
Country: UK
UK: 69 mins
UK Certificate: PG contains one scene of moderate injury detail
UK Release Date: 29 May 2008
Synopsis
Shot over an 18-month period, THE UNWINKING GAZE chronicles the 72 year-old Dalai Lama's progress as he tries to engage the Chinese government over the future of Tibet.
The unprecedented access, to one of the most iconic figures on earth, was bargained for over the space of a year between filmmaker, Joshua Dugdale and the Dalai Lama's private office. The result is a unique portrait of a Buddhist God King as he tries to strike a balance between his religion and the realpolitik required to engage China in a debate they don't want.
The documentary shows a side of the Nobel Peace Prize-winner that has never been seen before. The David and Goliath struggle between him and the Chinese reveals his innate political pragmatism - by persuading the global giant that he is the only man who will be able to resolve the issue of Tibet.
THE UNWINKING GAZE is not 18 months in the life of the Dalai Lama; it is his life's work in 18 months.