Ani, The Nuns of Yaqen (52')
ANI, THE NUNS OF YAQEN (52')
INFORMATION
IT / 2019 / 52’ / 4K / Italian, English (subtitles)
SD Cinematografica / Directed by Eloïse Barbieri
Worldwide rights available except Italy
TAGS
Faith
SYNOPSIS
In the mid-80s Akhyuk Lama, a Buddhist monk, went to meditate on the sacred plateau of eastern Tibet. Little by little countless pilgrims joined him, thus founding Yaqen gar, an immense “Buddhist settlement” where about 20,000 monastics reside, two thirds of them are nuns. It is a holy site that the Chinese government wants to demolish. The female quarter is a village made up of shacks, the nuns are of all ages and are united by the same spiritual quest and desire for emancipation, many of them belong to the Chinese Han ethnic group. The director is the only Western woman to have managed to live alongside them, she stayed in Yaqen gar for a month, despite the police searches. She recounts the life they lead in this very special place that may soon cease to exist.