Heart-warming documentary Mission: JOY with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Dalai Lama coming to BBC Four & BBC iPlayer on 23 February 2022 at 10pm

Feb 21, 2022
Iconic PR
Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Photograph by Hattie Miles

Mission: JOY with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Dalai Lama – a special documentary acquired for BBC Four and BBC iPlayer showcasing the uplifting bond and friendship between the late Archbishop Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama – is set to air on 23 February at 10pm on BBC Four.

The self-described ‘mischievous brothers’ were filmed over five days by an Award-winning team who captured a never-before-seen friendship built on truth, honest and, most importantly, JOY. The documentary is packed with special footage, some prankish anecdotes and interviews with those close to the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu including Mpho Tutu van Furth, daughter of Archbishop Tutu, and Thupten Jinpa Langri, the long-time English translator for the Dalai Lama.

Expect everything from joyous laughter and teasing to emotional and heart-felt conversation and reflection. The two influential figures will showcase the purest example of humanity throughout this documentary, despite their very different and difficult journeys. Both men have made happiness a habit of life — finding JOY in perseverance and furthering it with practice to live fully, face adversity and fight for a better world. Not to mention this, the ways of life that both have learned and live by is supported by neuroscience highlighted in the film by Dr Sonja Lyubomirski, Behaviour Scientist at UC Riverside and Dr Richard Davidson, Director of Center For Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin.

Inspired by the ‘Book of Joy’ by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Doug Abrams. This film is also part of Mission JOY, a worldwide campaign to challenge everyone to not wait for JOY, but to create their own today and every day.