Please join us for this film screening and discussion hosted by
the United Nations Association of New York in association with BYkids
HOLLY CARTER
Founder and Executive Director, BYkids
CAT PAPADIMITRIOU
Filmmaker, BYkids Mentor
With an Introduction by
H.E. AMBASSADOR DOMA TSHERING
Permanent Representative of Bhutan to the United Nations
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Thursday | 21 April 2022 | 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. EST
6:00 p.m. | Film Screening
6:30 p.m. | Q+A
Screening begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. followed by a Q+A with our guests.
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Register for this event here
Eighteen-year-old Rinzin Jurmey from Bhutan decided to become a monk and student of Buddhist cosmology when he was eleven years old. Unlike many of his peers who attend modern schools and are more materialistic, Jurmey enjoys a contemplative lifestyle.
The small nation of Bhutan was cut off from the rest of the world until only a few decades ago. Rather than gross domestic product, the country uses a Gross National Happiness Index to measure economic and moral progress and promote Buddhist spiritual values. But tourism, technology, and globalization have had a major impact on Bhutan. As Jurmey travels between his monastery, mountain village, and the city, he meets with hip hop dancers, video game enthusiasts, and sports fans, seeking to understand the intersection of tradition and pop culture.
With guidance from cinematographer Cat Papadimitriou, Jurmey documents the ways in which he, and his country, are striving to preserve ancient practices while embracing modernity.
Join us for our first Film Talk event this year, as we showcase the BYkids production BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME, which originally aired on Public Television in April of 2021. Our guests this evening to discuss the film after the screening will be Cat Papadimitriou, filmmaker and BYkids mentor, and Holly Carter, founder and executive director of BYkids. The discussion will be introduced by our special guest, Ambassador Doma Tshering, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations.
GUEST SPEAKERS
HOLLY CARTER
Holly Carter is the Founder and Executive Director of BYkids. Holly began her career as a writer and editor at The New York Times and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Since then she has lived in Korea as a Henry Luce scholar and print and television journalist; produced an award-winning documentary on Margaret Sanger; co-founded North Carolina's Full Frame Festival; served as a consultant for The After-School Corporation; produced the PBS series Media Matters; and most recently was the Executive Director of The Global Film Initiative.
CAT PAPADIMITRIOU
Cat Papadimitriou is a filmmaker born and based in New York City. Her first narrative feature NIA ON VACATION won the Orpheus Award for best picture at the London Greek Film Festival in 2020 and she is currently in development on her second feature. Cat has been an integral part of the production team of past BYkids films, including MY BEAUTIFUL NICARAGUA and FIRE IN OUR HEARTS. She looks forward to many more.
“It’s somewhat unusual that a teenager has a hard time talking about themselves, so helping Rinzin tell this story was uniquely challenging. That this film is set in a Buddhist country with someone like Rinzin makes it unlike any other film I have been a part of, and I’m so excited to share it with the world.”
H.E. AMBASSADOR DOMA TSHERING
Ambassador Doma Tshering, Permanent Representative of Bhutan to the United Nations, presented her credentials to the UN Secretary General on the 13th September 2017. She concurrently serves as Bhutan’s Ambassador to Canada, and to Brazil.
Prior to taking up her current post, she served as Director of the Department of Multilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2012-2017.
Ambassador Tshering is a career diplomat and joined the Bhutanese Foreign Service in 1991. She previously served at the Permanent Mission of Bhutan to the UN in Geneva as Deputy Permanent Representative (2007-2009), and as Political Counsellor at the Mission (2005-2006) responsible for human rights matters. She has earlier served in various capacities at the Permanent Mission of Bhutan to the UN in New York (1995-2000) charged with political matters and the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee. While at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thimphu, she headed the Policy Planning Division (2009-2012), and the Europe and Americas Division (2004-2005).
Ambassador Tshering received her post graduate degree in Public Administration and International Relations from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration in Paris, and a BA in Political Science and Japan Studies from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She has undergone periodic civil service trainings at the Royal Institute for Governance and Strategic Studies in Phuentsholing, Bhutan, and at the Tencholing Military Training Centre in Wangdiphodrang, Bhutan.
She received the Royal Civil Service Award silver medal in 2013, and gold medal in 2021.
ABOUT BYkids
Because kids tell honest and important stories, but often go unheard, the non-profit organization BYkids was created to pair master filmmakers, such Albert Maysles and Ric Burns, with youth (ages 8-21) from around the world, to create short documentaries that educate Americans about globally relevant issues.
By giving kids the tools and mentoring to make documentary films about their lives and packaging those films for a wide American audience, BYkids gives voice to youth from diverse cultures, and encourages international understanding and engagement by giving viewers concrete ways to respond.
In October 2011, Edmond Mulet, Assistant Secretary-General for U.N. Peacekeeping Operations, became a core advisor for developing BYkids partnerships with United Nations agencies, extending the story sourcing, on-site logistics and strategic outreach for BYkids films. "Each BYkids youth storyteller mobilizes our conscience towards a larger sense of global solidarity. BYkids reminds us that we are one Humanity," said Mulet.