Seven Stones Media has obtained unprecedented access to film a landmark documentary series in Tibet. Commissioned by BBC FOUR and distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide, A Year in Tibet follows a calendar year inside the secret confines of a Tibetan monastery and charts the lives of those living in Gyanste the small town which surrounds it and surrounding villages. The 5 x 1hr series examines the reality of life today for Tibetans living under Chinese rule.
Seven Stones Media has gained unparalleled access to one of the most isolated and spiritual parts of the world and their cameras will be the first ever allowed to follow members of the community, offering the Western audience a rare insight into their lives, religion, servitude and family.
Seven Stones’ Executive Producer, Adam Alexander said: “Getting under the skin of Tibetan society and filming for a year amongst a deeply religious community and with the people who surround the monastery has not only been a huge logistical challenge, but a unique opportunity to explore one of the last outposts of a once medieval society and how it now has to survive as part of modern China.”
Series Producer Peter Firstbrook, who filmed Lost on Everest in Tibet in 1999 adds: “This exciting project took over two years to negotiate with the authorities and over a year to film and promises to be a series unlike anything seen before on British television.”
A Year in Tibet was commissioned for BBC FOUR by Richard Klein, and it is a co-production between Seven Stones Media and Mosaic Films. The series is written and produced and directed in the cutting room by Peter Firstbrook with Sun Shuyun as location director. It will air on BBC FOUR in Spring 2008.
