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'. - Werner Herzog

Wheel of Time is an unexpectedly peaceful and joyous documentary study of the world's largest Buddhist ritual: the Kalachakra initiation, which takes place at the site of the Buddha's enlightenment in Bodhgaya, India. While Herzog captures incredible sights — such as hundreds of thousands of worshippers praying in unison and the creation of an enormous sand mandala — he focuses more intently on the inner devotion of those who have travelled from afar 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.