A father and son from Ladakh in Northern India, embark on a winter pilgrimage along an ancient route to deliver a heavy and unwieldy Buddha statue to a remote mountain monastery. They follow a trail called the Chadar, along the frozen surface of the River Zanskar, winding through its deep shadowy gorges.
The film is a celebration of the Chadar, an affirmation of Buddhist faith and a historical record of this ancient way which is now under threat from regional road building schemes. The dialogue is entirely in Ladakhi, with English subtitles.
This film was part of
VIMFF 2022
and is no longer available for viewing.
Sean Whitaker is a documentary film-maker, photographer and writer based in the UK. For over ten years he traveled widely in Ladakh compiling an archive of a region in rapid social and economic change.
