The Geshema is Born
A film by Malati Rao
70 min | Tibetan, English with English subtitles | 2019
Watch the film online on the BIC website from Aug 24th – 30th Aug, 2020
Sandhya Kumar will be in conversation with the director on August 27th, 7:00 pm IST.
Viewing is free and open to all.
SYNOPSIS
For the Buddha, establishing a community of nuns was a radical experiment for its time. Over the centuries, Buddhist religious life was available to women and many historical events mention highly accomplished nuns. But the highest monastic qualifications were denied to them. His Holiness The Dalai Lama worked for decades along with the nuns in Tibetan Buddhism to empower and enable them to finally receive the same education and degree as the monks. In achieving this the nuns impact the potential of women across all faiths and foreground the wisdom and uniqueness of the feminine experience. The film traces the journey of an exceptional nun, Namdol Phuntsok, the first woman ever to be awarded the highest degree in Tibetan philosophy - the Geshema degree which stands for the ‘knower of virtue’.
THE DIRECTOR
Malati Rao has been making documentaries for the last decade,
several of which have been broadcast on public television.
Handmade in India, on India’s craft traditions and Born Behind Bars,
about children growing up in prison, have been applauded and screened at several film festivals. Malati holds an MFA degree in Film and Media Arts from Temple University, USA, and an MA in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi.
