2 June, 2011: About ninety students from the Institute of Language and Cultural Studies (ILCS) discussed ways in which film, and especially documentaries, can be used to reflect changes in Bhutan’s culture and society.

At the screening of short films held at the school, the students met with the film-maker Kinley Penjor and watched his documentary film “Children in Rural Bhutan” and 3 other short films.

The question and answer session after the screening of the films, was interactive as there were many students with curiosity to know more about documentary films. Though the students enjoyed watching short films, they asked some intriguing questions.

The questions asked were “why we need to watch documentaries films?” “What is the difference between the documentary film and feature film?”

Kinley Penjor, the film maker of “Children of Rural Bhutan” and Director of BCMD Sioksian Pek cleared the doubts of the student who asked many probing questions.

The documentaries screened were “Children in Rural Bhutan” produced by kinley Penjor. This film is about how children in remote places face hardship with understanding, and sense of purpose. This documentary was nominated as one of the top ten finalists in 2007 for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Two short films on ‘Media usage’ produced by the participant of the Media Nomads are about the effect of media use in the daily lives.

The other short film screened was “A life of a taxi driver” produced by the students of Mothithang High School. This film is about the challenges faced by taxi driver in the capital who strives to live a livelihood.

BCMD supports documentary film screening in the educational institutions as a part of its on-going media literacy programme. The screenings invite film makers to meet with youth and discuss a variety of issues confronting Bhutan.