Paradise With Side Effects

Description

A  follow-up film to ANCIENT FUTURES. A documentary following two women from Ladakh, or Little Tibet, a remote region in the Himalayas, on a reality tour of London to see what life in the West is really like. The tour, sponsored by the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC), exposes the women to aspects of modern urban life homelessness, old-age homes, massive garbage dumps that contrast sharply with the idealized media and advertising images that colonize people’s minds in the less-developed parts of the world.

Claus Schenk originally made this film for German and French television. It provides fascinating insights into the pressures facing non-Western people as they confront the global economy. Conversations with Helena-Norberg-Hodge, Director of ISEC, reveal the thinking that lies behind the organization’s work.

With stunning footage of Ladakh, this is a valuable resource for anyone concerned about the spread of the consumer culture and the ensuing destruction of the planet’s cultural diversity.

See companion documentary Ancient Futures, Learning From Ladakh here

Credits:
A film by Claus Schenk
With Dolma Tsering and Tsewang Lden of the Alliance of Ladakh

www.localfutures.org

2004

40 mins