Meditation Summer

Mindfulness, Filmmaking, and Drug Policy

Xenia Grubstein |  Saturday, July 3 | 1:00pm - 2:30pm

This talk is an exploration of what it feels like when we are extending mindfulness in our daily life to things we do professionally and creatively. It also touches upon the drug policy reform movement that stems from wholesome and loving approach to every person and from realization that problematic substance use has a lot more to do with public health than with criminal justice.

Xenia Grubstein was born on the Sakhalin island in the Pacific Ocean and now resides in New York. She has been involved in print, TV and video production since 1998 for publications and TV channels such as DirecTV, The Moscow Times, Esquire, GQ and Rolling Stone. Having been interested in Buddhism since her teens, Xenia is currently taking a course in mindfulness-based stress reduction at New York's Continuum
Center for Health and Healing and putting together a weekly outdoor meditation event in Brooklyn.

In 2012 she associate produced Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer, which received the Special Jury Award at Sundance 2013 and was consequently short-listed for an Academy Award in the Documentary Feature category.
Presently Xenia is working on a documentary about the drug policy reform, supported by Open Society and Bertha foundations,simultaneously exploring the benefits of mindful approach to drug policy and documentary making, and on a series on world's most progressive mayors, supported by Bertha foundation.