George Schouten

In 1984, Ate de Jong, Dick Maas and George Schouten founded The Directors, a band made up of movie directors. Later on, more directors joined and so did actors, actresses and singers. This documentary follows the band members at home, on the set, at rehearsals and during performances. It’s a story of friendship, opposing characters, growing old and ambitions and illusions. Anecdotes and archive films provide a hilarious flashback on the lives of the film friends. Time has treated them well. Everybody is or has been successful. To rough it all up, they decide to write a song that will be played at one of the band member’s funeral.

In 1984, Ate de Jong, Dick Maas and George Schouten founded The Directors, a band made up of movie directors. Later on, more directors joined and so did actors, actresses and singers. This documentary follows the band members at home, on the set, at rehearsals and during performances. It’s a story of friendship, opposing characters, growing old and ambitions and illusions. Anecdotes and archive films provide a hilarious flashback on the lives of the film friends. Time has treated them well. Everybody is or has been successful. To rough it all up, they decide to write a song that will be played at one of the band member’s funeral.

This documentary examines the life of Matthieu Ricard, who left a promising career as a geneticist in France to pursue his passion for spiritual growth. More than 30 years later, Ricard is a noted humanitarian, photographer and Buddhist monk. After studying with renowned teacher Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Ricard established his own methods of advancing the practice of meditation, and as a scientist, he maps the brain's activity under meditation.

Thich Nhat Hanh, monk, zen teacher, writer and peace activist, born in Vietnam in 1926, was the organiser of a non-violent resistance movement after the outbreak of the Vietnam War. We follow Thich Nhat Hanh around the time of Memorial Day of 9/11 in Washington D.C., where he teaches Members of Congress the concepts of ‘Mindful Living’. He tries to convey his message of peace straight to the centre of world power. Thousands of people participate each year in the meditation retreats led by Thich Nhat Hanh. In his monastic community Plum Village in the south of France, his home base, he brings groups of Palestinians and Israelis together. Horrible experiences are exchanged and discussed for the first time, in the hope that people may come to recognize each other’s suffering.

When Eva no longer finds satisfaction in her relationship with Hans, her phobias reappear. Through Hans' former colleague Jack she learns to deal with her fears, the hard way.