Richard Gere presents a new documentary about inner peace in Zurich

Screams, flashes and countless onlookers – Zurich is currently in Hollywood fever. Actor Richard Gere (75) visibly had difficulty breaking away from the fans waiting in the rain and stepping onto the green carpet in front of the media. Everyone wanted a snapshot of the “Pretty Woman” actor.

At the 20th anniversary of the Zurich Film Festival, Richard Gere appeared as a guest of honor and presented the Swiss documentary “Wisdom of Happiness,” in which he is an executive producer. In the film, the 14th Dalai Lama pleads for more compassion in human interactions with one another.

Richard Gere has been a believer in Buddhism since the early 1990s and is considered a friend of the Dalai Lama: “Everything about him fascinates me. He has been on this planet for almost 90 years and shows that if you work on yourself, you can achieve inner peace – just like him,” said Gere on the ZFF carpet.

Finding inner peace – that doesn’t seem so easy when, like Gere, you live a life on the big carpets of the world and are in the public spotlight. «When I started this job, I was like an animal and very committed – finding the balance was not easy. But I have improved somewhat in this respect,” explains the 75-year-old.

His wife Alejandra Gere, who accompanies her husband to Zurich, adds: “You have really improved and are more relaxed. However, you worked very hard on this film.” She goes on to say with a laugh that Richard even showed her excerpts from the documentary in bed in the evening and asked her for her opinion. “He thought about the film non-stop. But it was also really a special project for him,” said the 41-year-old.

“Wisdom of Happiness” celebrates its world premiere in Zurich. «I’m looking forward to watching the film here with a large audience. But above all, I’m happy that such a large Tibetan community can see our documentary – it will be very emotional for them,” says the actor. The film was directed by Barbara Miller, Philip Delaquis and Manuel Bauer in collaboration with Richard Gere and Oren Moverman.

Also present in Zurich was the Dalai Lama’s sister, Jetsun Pema (84). As she told 20 Minutes, she was happy about a beautiful rainbow that she saw over the roofs of Zurich. “It’s raining, but that’s perfect cinema weather,” says the “Mother of Tibet” with a laugh.

Richard Gere was already in Zurich on Monday evening. As Zurich restaurateur Michel Péclard tells Blick, the actor visited Péclard’s Lulu restaurant near the opera house with his wife and invited guests. This was reserved exclusively for Gere and the “Wisdom of Happiness” cast. According to Péclard, there were Züri-Gschnätzlets and Rösti to eat.

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