About

I was still undecided about the project, but the Dalai Lama sent an envoy who asked me to reconsider and make the film, starting in Bodhgaya. Apparently he's a big fan of cinema, especially vampire films, and enjoyed 'Nosferatu'.

Wheel of Time is an unexpectedly peaceful and joyous documentary study of the world's largest Buddhist ritual, the Kalachakra initiation, which takes place in Bodhgaya, India – the site of the Buddha's enlightenment. Herzog captures incredible sights - hundreds of thousands of worshippers praying in unison, the creation of an enormous sand mandala – but he focuses more intently on the inner devotion of those who have travelled so far for this ritual. The film also includes interviews with the Dalai Lama (who personally requested Herzog take on the project) and a Tibetan political prisoner, who spent decades in prison for his activism for an independent Tibet.