My good friend Kathleen reading my speech.
At the European Spiritual Film Festival in Paris last night we won our first festival prize! Best Spiritual Documentary 2011. Here is the speech that was read by my friend Kathleen at the awards ceremony.
“I want to thank the European Spiritual Film Festival for this recognition. I’m delighted that this story of the people of Zanskar touched your hearts. They certainly touched mine.
Please consider yourselves duly appointed ambassadors of Zanskar. You can go right now to SaveZanskar.org and offer assistance to the monks to complete their school. You can visit our Zanskar Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, sign up to receive email updates on our Warrior Films website. Please let your families and friends know about the film, Journey From Zanskar. In these days of media saturation, pummeled by stories of horror and messages of cynicism, please take heart and be of good cheer. Know that we can follow the lead of the Zanskaris and find peace in the pursuit of simple, worthy ends. Thank you.”
European Film Festival Award for Best Spiritual Documentary 2011
Zanskar is one of the last remaining original Tibetan Buddhist societies with a continuous untainted lineage dating back thousands of years. In nearby Tibet and Ladakh, in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Nepal, traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture is either dead already or dying. The horror of Chinese government design in Tibet is being matched by the destruction of global economics elsewhere. Zanskar, ringed by high Himalayan mountains in northwest India, one of the most remote places on the planet, has been safe until now. But that’s changing.
In 3-5 years a road connecting Padum, the heart of Zanskar, with Leh, the heart of neighboring Ladakh, will be finished. The route which previously took up to two days by car will take only 4-5 hours. As economic growth descends on Zanskar it will bring with it an end to this unbroken Buddhist social tradition. Will the native language, culture, and religious practice be able to survive?
Buy the film Journey From Zanskar to help save Tibetan Buddhism