Photo Flash: New Poster for MISS TIBET: BEAUTY IN EXILE

DOC NYC 2014 will present MISS TIBET: BEAUTY IN EXILE, directed by Norah Shapiro, on November 16-17. Scroll down to check out a new poster for the documentary!

High in the Indian Himalayas, in the epicenter of the exiled Tibetan world, a maverick Tibetan impresario stages an unexpected spectacle: a western-style beauty pageant. When Tibetan-American teenager Tenzin Khecheo travels to India to participate in this 'pageant with a difference,' she finds herself not just competing for a crown, but confronting the intersection between her cultural identity and life in the western world.

Pageant founder Lobsang Wangyal seeks to fill a void within the Tibetan exile community by bringing a bit of glamour into his corner of the world. Complete with catwalks and evening gowns, he sees his pageant as an opportunity for exiled Tibetan women to both immerse themselves in Tibetan culture and to add their voices to global fight for a free Tibet by using the pageant as a unlikely political platform.

Running Time: 69 Minutes/ Language: English, Tibetan/ Country: USA

Official Site: www.misstibetbeautyinexile.com

DOC NYC FESTIVAL SCREENINGS:

Sunday, November 16 at 7:15PM, IFC CENTER (323 6th Avenue, NY)

Monday, November 17 at 11:15AM, IFC CENTER (323 6th Avenue, NY)

DOC NYC link to buy tickets.

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR Norah Shapiro left a decade-long career as a public defender to pursue the adventures of documentary filmmaking. Her first feature, "If You Dare," about an inner-city theater company working with at-risk children, premiered at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, aired on Twin Cities Public Television, and is in the collections of universities and libraries around the US and Canada. She is a McKnight Filmmaking Fellow and has received grants for "Miss Tibet: Beauty in Exile" from the Jerome Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, and the Minnesota Filmmakers Legacy Finishing Fund. She is currently co-directing and producing, along with Kelly Nathe, a documentary about Minnesota 13 Moonshine, which also received funding from the Minnesota Filmmakers Legacy Fund.

ABOUT DOC NYC - DOC NYC, America's largest documentary festival, presents its fifth edition November 13-20, 2014at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea's SVA Theatre and Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas. The 2014 festival will showcase 153 films, including 25 world and US premieres, plus panels, masterclasses, and a new Visionaries Tribute event, with more than 200 documentary makers and special guests appearing in person. In addition to an audience award, DOC NYC presents jury prizes in three competition sections; the festival is also an Academy qualifying festival for the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject.