Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a nice week. Before I reveal this week’s film pick, I’m always interested to hear what other people are watching, so if you saw any good, bad, interesting, or just plain strange documentaries this week feel free to share in the comments below.
This week’s Doc of the Week post will be rather short, but hopefully no less sweet! “Tashi and the Monk” premiered this past Monday on HBO. The film is about Buddhist monk Lobsang Phuntsok and the permanent home he made for 85 orphans and abandoned children in a remote region of the Himalayas. In the community of Jhamtse Gatsal, ‘The Garden of Love and Compassion,’ Lobsang is embraced by the children as a father, a figure he longed for as a child, and a role he fulfills admirably today.
My first thought after seeing the film is that Lobsang should be nominated for a CNN Hero Award. The work he’s doing is nothing short of inspiring. Directors Andrew Hinton and Johnny Burke, in this beautifully shot 39 minute documentary, have captured the one thing that the world could use a little more of these days—love.
If you’re in the U.S., you can currently catch “Tashi and the Monk” on HBO On-Demand. For those outside of the U.S., the film is available for rent on Vimeo. It’s also available on DVD for $30 with more than half of the proceeds going directly to the Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community.
Photo credit for the image on the homepage: Pilgrim Films; Poster Design: Sam Campbell and Lee Tesche of Lamb & Sea
