Editing is sailing along with the help of archival researcher Jen Petrucelli. About the film:
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a prolific writer, thinker, and spiritual teacher who spent his life tackling topics such as monastic spirituality, civil rights, and nuclear proliferation. During his final years, he was drawn to Asian religions and worked tirelessly to promote a dialogue between the East and West. Just months before his unexpected death, Merton left his Trappist monastery in Kentucky to travel to Asia for the first time. There he met Harold Talbott, a young American studying with the Dalai Lama, who became his guide and travel companion.
In "Fellow Travelers" we join Talbott and Merton on their adventure through Northern India in 1968. Together, they meet with the Dalai Lama and other spiritual masters, immerse themselves in Tibetan Buddhism, and contemplate war and peace in the shadow of the intensifying Vietnam War. Through Merton's vivid letters and journals, in-depth interviews with Talbott, and rare archival footage, the film illustrates how these two men - one at the end of his life and one at the beginning - are transformed by their new surroundings, the dharma, and each other.
