This film tells the breath-taking story of the Swiss geologist Toni Hagen – advisor to Nepalese kings and the UN, confident of the Dalai Lama, awarded the Himalayan kingdom’s highest honour, scientist, adventurer and author of the standard work ‘Nepal’.
Filmed in original locations assisted by the now 85 year-old Toni Hagen personally, ‘The Ring of Buddha’ gives a detailed account of the adventurer’s pioneering years in the ‘forbidden kingdom’ and his return 40 years later. The epilogue is spoken by his holiness the Dalai Lama. Viewers will be spellbound by the authentic story and the breathtaking images of Nepal’s fascinating landscapes and culture.
In 1950, following an invitation from the Maharaja of Nepal and in order to search for mineral resources, Toni Hagen became the first European to travel to the mountain state. Journeying through the eternal ice of the 8000 metre peaks, through torrential monsoons and the tropical heat of the malaria-infected Terai, the geologist covered 14,000 km on foot in 8 years. His travels took him to regions that no European had ever seen.
In 1999, to keep the promise of accompanying an old Buddhist monk on his last journey, Hagen again set out on the arduous journey. However, he arrived too late, as the old monk and his followers had already left the monastery for an unknown destination. The search began. Through a series of flashbacks using both original colour film and staged sequences, we travel back to the 50’s, accompanying Hagen on his dangerous expeditions through uncharted territory.
The 90-minute film was produced by Udo Grube Film, Stuttgart and directed by Jochen Breitenstein. The London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra provides the atmospheric music score.
