In 1964 and 1965 the French filmmaker Arnaud Desjardins gained access to the Tibetan community in exile, in the first filming of their life and culture allowed by the Dalai Lama since going into exile, which was compiled into two films which I will be showing over the next couple of weeks.
Bodies Donated to Science and Monks
Contemplation of the charnel grounds and giving gifts to others are two of the ways the Buddha recommended to overcome selfishness. Here are some reflections on the subject, followed by today’s documentary which is about people who donate their bodies to medical science.
The Boy Who Lived Before
Film about a boy in Scotland who can remember with uncanny accuracy the details of a previous life and his visit to his old ‘home’.
Sikkim (1971) – A Film by Satyajit Ray
Here is a wonderful film by one of my favorite film-makers, Satyajit Ray, about the land, people and culture of Sikkim, made in 1971 while Sikkim was still a sovereign state.
The Genius of Photography 6: Snap Judgements
The sixth episode in this series looks at the way photography has been commodified, just like modern art in general has.
The Genius of Photography 4: Paper Movies
This week’s episode looks at the way photographers found their own terrain on the streets of the cities, the highways and beaches of the post-war world.
The Genius of Photography 3: Right Time, Right Place
This week’s episode is about the evolution of photojournalism, from its beginnings with the Frenchman, Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, up and to the coverage of the aftermath of 9/11.
We, featuring the words of Arundhati Roy
This is a ‘must see’ 64 minute documentary film. The film examines the widely unregarded worlds of Anthropology and Geopolitics in a very dynamic manner, and is probably stylistically quite unlike any documentary that you have previously seen.
The Genius of Photography 2: Documents for Artists
The second documentary in this BBC series examines the various movements that arose in photography in the first half of the 20th century by focusing on some of the representative workers in the field.
