Plattsburgh, NY – 01/07/2016 – Mountain Lake PBS? newest documentary, Arts in Exile: Tibetan Treasures in Small Town America, explores how a small city like Plattsburgh can be inspired by, and connected to the culture of Tibet from across the globe. The documentary will premiere at the Strand Theatre on Wednesday, January 20, at 7:00pm.
Arts in Exile: Tibetan Treasures in Small Town America explores the ability of arts and culture to create and unify communities across the world from Tibet to a small town in upstate New York.
This documentary uses the story of Tenzin and Yangchen Dorjee as a lens to explore the way Tibetans use the arts to keep their culture alive. Since moving to Plattsburgh, NY in 2008, the Dorjee’s have sought to bring awareness of the arts and culture of Tibet to this small community in upstate New York through three past Tibetan Arts Festivals, and through their popular business, Himalaya Restaurant in Plattsburgh, NY and now in Burlington, VT.
Arts in Exile highlights the Dorjee’s efforts to launch a large-scale Festival of Tibetan Arts and Culture with several community partners including Mountain Lake PBS. The result was a four-week arts festival of exhibits and performances, the installation of a community-made mosaic mural, and this 60-minute documentary, Arts in Exile: Tibetan Treasures in Small Town America.
“A theme that runs through much of my work is how the arts benefit people in unexpected ways,” Paul Larson, documentary producer, said. “In the case of Tibetans, they use the arts as a gateway to inform people about a global issue that affects everyone. They also use painting, dance and music to keep their culture alive, in an effort to hold onto the beauty that makes them uniquely Tibetan.”
“The response to the entire initiative has been exceptional — from the mural, to the festival and performances, and now the documentary. It’s gratifying to cap the year’s efforts off with a premiere for the community that has been so supportive,” said Erik Nycklemoe, President & CEO of Mountain Lake PBS.
The screening of Arts in Exile is free and open to the public, and the producer along with Festival of Tibetan Arts of the Adirondack Coast partners will be in attendance for a brief question and answer session after the film. Following the premiere screening, the film?s broadcast premiere will be on Thursday, January 21 at 9 PM on Mountain Lake PBS.
Learn more about the program and view the trailer atÿhttps://mountainlake.org/programs/arts-in-exileÿ.
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About The Festival of Tibetan Arts & Culture of the Adirondack Coast 2015
A series of community events illuminating the arts and culture of Tibet in the North Country between April and December 2015, including performances by the Adirondack Youth Orchestra; exhibitions and events at SUNY Plattsburgh; the creation and installation of a tile mural in downtown Plattsburgh led by Sue Young and the Plattsburgh Renewal Project with support from the Strand Arts Center; and a documentary by Mountain Lake PBS. This festival was funded, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
About Mountain Lake PBS
Mountain Lake PBS produces high quality programs for local and worldwide audiences, reaching over 3.9 million viewers in New York, Vermont, Quebec and Ontario. The station also provides a host of education and outreach services for learners of all ages and devotes at least eight hours a day to programming for children.
Mountain Lake PBS? mission is to inspire and enrich people and communities through meaningful storytelling, entertainment, education and public engagement.