VisionTV’s Inspirational Leaders Week celebrates the legacies of spiritual greats, from Martin Luther King to Pope John Paul II

When Jan. 1 rolls around, many of us will pause to take stock, ponder the lessons of the past year, and make a resolution to change our lives in 2008.

Learning from people we admire is one way to figure out who we want to be. It’s in this spirit that VisionTV presents Inspirational Leaders Week, Dec. 31 to Jan. 5.

Canada’s multi-faith and multicultural television network rings in the New Year with a full week devoted to documentary and feature film portraits of spiritual greats whose words and actions have changed the world.

Highlights include the Canadian television premiere of the hour-long documentary The Aga Khan: A Voice of Reason, along with the VisionTV premieres of feature-length documentaries celebrating Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Pope John Paul II.

For more programming information and video on demand, please visit www.visiontv.ca.

Inspirational Leaders Week on VisionTV

***Documentary: Encore Presentation***
Dalai Lama: Behind the Smile
Monday, Dec. 31, 9 p.m. and midnight ET/6 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT
Repeats Friday, Jan. 4, 1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT

The Dalai Lama is the living symbol of Tibet’s quest for freedom. Supported by a powerful circle of advisors, parliamentarians and ministers, he has championed the use of non-violent means in the struggle to break China’s hold on his country. But as this documentary reveals, an emerging generation of Tibetans has begun to question his peaceful approach and to contemplate more radical action. Can he hold them in check, and preserve the dream of a free Tibet?

***Documentary: Encore Presentation***
Words of My Perfect Teacher
Monday, Dec. 31, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Repeats Saturday, Jan. 5, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

Khyentse Norbu is one of the world’s most remarkable figures: a revered Buddhist teacher and an acclaimed filmmaker whose debut feature, The Cup, had its 1999 premiere at Cannes. In this documentary, writer/director Lesley Ann Patten turns to him seeking the path to wisdom, but his unconventional methods of instruction leave her baffled. The film follows Patten and two other students in the pursuit of their enigmatic teacher: a strange and sometimes comical quest that leads from a soccer match in Munich to the Hollywood home of beefy action star Steven Seagal.

***Documentary: Encore Presentation***
The Fires that Burn: The Life and Work of Sister Elaine MacInnes
Monday, Dec. 31, 1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT
Saturday, Jan. 5, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

Meet Sister Elaine MacInnes: classical musician, Roman Catholic nun, Zen master, prison activist. This hour-long documentary traces the lifelong journey of Moncton, N.B. native Sister Elaine, from her early career as a concert violinist to her work today, helping men and women in prison learn the art of meditation. It is an extraordinary quest for spiritual understanding – one that takes her from the Juilliard School to the convent, and from a Buddhist temple to British prison cells.

***Feature Film***
Gandhi – Complete and Uncut
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

Director Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning 1982 biopic tells the story of Mahatma Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), from his early experiences as a young lawyer fighting racial discrimination in South Africa, to his extraordinary career as a political and spiritual leader whose commitment to nonviolent resistance helped to free India from British rule. With John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Martin Sheen and Candice Bergen, along with acclaimed Indian actors Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth and Om Puri.

***Documentary: VisionTV Premiere***
Citizen King
Wednesday, Jan. 2, 9 p.m. and midnight ET/6 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT

In 1963, on an August afternoon in Washington, D.C., a fiery 34-year-old preacher galvanized millions with his dream of an America free from racism. His story would come to an end five years later, when he was shot dead on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn. Three decades later, Dr. Martin Luther King has become an almost mythic figure, a civil rights activist whose words and legacy remain hotly contested. This feature-length documentary goes beyond the mythology to reclaim the history of a people’s leader, bringing fresh insight into King’s difficult journey, his charismatic – if flawed – leadership, and his incalculable social and political impact.

***Documentary: VisionTV Premiere***
Mandela
Thursday, Jan. 3, 9 p.m. and midnight ET/6 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT

Few men in history have fought so hard and endured so much as Nelson Mandela. During his 27 years of political imprisonment, he came to symbolize the fight against South African apartheid. His release from prison and his 1994 election as the country’s first black president electrified the entire world. This feature-length documentary, co-produced by Oscar winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), tells the story of Mandela’s remarkable life: from his tribal origins, through his years of political activism, revolutionary leadership and imprisonment, and on to his ultimate triumph as leader of a racially united South Africa.

***Documentary: Canadian Premiere***
The Aga Khan – A Voice of Reason
Friday, Jan. 4, 9 p.m. and midnight ET/6 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT
Repeats Saturday, January 5, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

His Highness the Aga Khan is the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, an oft-persecuted minority within Islam. At a time when the Muslim world is increasingly at odds with itself and the West, the Aga Khan represents a rare voice of moderation, speaking up for pluralism and diversity, supporting charities, hospitals and schools all over the developing world, and working tirelessly to promote dialogue between civilizations. This hour-long documentary reveals the history of the Ismailis, chronicles the Aga Khan’s rise to power half a century ago, and examines his ongoing struggle to maintain the delicate balance between tradition and modernity.

***Documentary: VisionTV Premiere***
The Life and Times of Pope John Paul II
Friday, Jan. 4, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

By the time of his death in April 2005, Pope John Paul II had utterly transformed the papacy, traveling more widely than any of his predecessors, harnessing the mass media to spread his message and using the power of the papal office to shape world events. This revealing documentary by award-winning writer/director Terence McKenna (Ground Zero, The Valour and the Horror) tells the dramatic story of how Karol Wojtyla, the son of a Polish army officer, became the spiritual leader of a billion Roman Catholics, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Pope’s surprising role in the power politics that led to the fall of Communism in 1989. Features interviews with Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, Lech Walesa and many other famous figures.