SKY RIVER OF THE HIMALAYAS

DOCUMENTARY / A 2017 / 3 × 50 MIN
a Film by Klaus Feichtenberger, Jeremy Hogarth and Heinz Leger

Winner of GUANGZHOU INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL, CHINA 2018
(Category: Best International Co-Production Documentary with China)
 
 

SYNOPSIS

The Brahmaputra, in China called Yarlung Tsangpo, is a river system of global superlatives. Yet it is practically unknown. Its source near Mount Kailash, Asia’s most sacred mountain among the world’s highest peaks, remained undiscovered until the turn of the 20th century. Even then, its upper and lower reaches were thought to be different rivers.

The Brahmaputra descends from the Roof of the World. It flows around the Himalayas and finally, as a giant conveyor belt of sediment, pushes South Asia’s coastline and further out into the Indian Ocean. It begins as the world’s highest major river. It thunders through the planet’s biggest gorge. Uniting with the Ganges, it eventually forms the earth’s vastest coastal delta.

The river keeps changing as it crosses three countries – China, India and Bangladesh that are home to dozens of ethnic groups. Three world religions flourish along its course, and its waters are sacred to each of them. The basin unites four of the planet’s major faunal and floral zones,themselves being biodiversity hotspots..

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