Geshe Wangyal. With Blessing of the Three Jewels (77 min) | Tricycle Buddhist Film Festival | Tricycle Buddhist Film Festival

Tricycle Buddhist Film Festival

Tricycle Buddhist Film Festival

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The selected films explore the rich tapestry of Buddhist thought through the lens of our talented filmmakers. They offer moments of contemplation and awakening, examine the complexities of existence and provide a heartfelt exploration of identity, all the while inviting viewers to contemplate universal truths that connect us all. May these films, long and short, leave a lasting imprint on our hearts and minds.

“Geshe Wangyal. With Blessing of the Three Jewels" is a dramatic story about the incredible earthly and spiritual journey of a Buddhist monk from Russia, who became one of the first preachers of Tibetan Buddhism in the United States. In 1923, as a young man, he left his home and spent over 30 years in Tibet and India, attaining the Buddhist degree of Geshe. He was a friend of the Dalai Lama and taught at Columbia University, dedicated his life to putting the Buddha's teachings into practice, and trained many talented students, increasing interest in Buddhism in the West.

Year
2022
Runtime
77 minutes
Language
English, Russian, Tibetan

Director
Ella Manzheeva
Producer
Anniko Films

9 films in package

Return to Gandhi Road (93 min)

This documentary tells the powerful story of Kangyur Rinpoche, a renowned Tibetan Master. Heeding the imminent danger of the 1950’s Cultural Revolution, and under the instructions of the Dalai Lama, Rinpoche braved the dangerous journey over the Himalayan mountains to India where he rescued two tons of Buddhist texts that otherwise faced potential extinction.

The Sweet Requiem (91 min)

When a young, exile Tibetan woman unexpectedly sees a man from her past, long-suppressed memories of her traumatic escape across the Himalayas are reignited and she is propelled on an obsessive search for reconciliation and closure.

Tukdam – Between Worlds (90 min)

In what Tibetans call tukdam, deceased meditators show no signs of death for days or weeks. Juxtaposing ground-breaking scientific research and Tibetan perspectives, this creative documentary challenges our notions of life and death, and where we draw the line between them.

Closed captions available

Geshe Wangyal. With Blessing of the Three Jewels (77 min)

This film tells the dramatic story about the incredible earthly and spiritual journey of a Buddhist monk from Russia, who became one of the first preachers of Tibetan Buddhism in the United States.

Drapchi Elegy (17 min)

The one-channel video installation weaves together vignettes from the everyday life of Namdol Lhamo, an anonymous exile living in Brussels who happens to be one of the famous Singing Nuns of Drapchi, a group of nuns imprisoned in Tibet in the early 1990s for peacefully demonstrating against Chinese rule. Namdol Lhamo’s sentence, along with that of her companions, was further increased when they were discovered to be secretly recording protest songs in Drapchi Prison and smuggling the tapes to the outside world. She spent a total of 12 years in prison.

Dust to Light (12 min)

The film listens as four Zen practitioners reflect on the transformative process of cleaning when it is approached as a meditation rather than burdensome chore.

The Altar (10 min)

A Buddhist fable-like story about the guilt of a childhood incident of killing an ant while washing hands in the sink. Animated through photographic sequences painted with golds and grays, the Zen-like visuals sweep into one another with whispering monologues and glitching noises reflecting the realms of cosmos, power, guilt, prayers, and existence.

Waking Up 2050 (45 min)

What is Buddhism? A deceptively simple question contemplated through diverse perspectives and stories of Ani Pema Deki (Emma Slade), the first western woman to be ordained in Bhutan, Kodo Nishimura, a Buddhist monk, LGBT activist and make-up artist and Prof. Daniel Veidlinger, Professor of Buddhism, in the Department of Comparative Religion and Humanities at California State University, Chico

Closed captions available

Windhorse (10 min)

SONAM has returned from the US after 20 years. He brings along his estranged son, KARMA, to visit the ancestral monasteries located in high altitude of Manang Village and perform the religious ritual of lighting Butter Lamps - as a rite of passage for his deceased wife. On their journey through the difficult terrains amidst mountain wind, Sonam tries to befriend his son but Karma keeps his distance and resents Sonam for being an absent father.

The selected films explore the rich tapestry of Buddhist thought through the lens of our talented filmmakers. They offer moments of contemplation and awakening, examine the complexities of existence and provide a heartfelt exploration of identity, all the while inviting viewers to contemplate universal truths that connect us all. May these films, long and short, leave a lasting imprint on our hearts and minds.

“Geshe Wangyal. With Blessing of the Three Jewels" is a dramatic story about the incredible earthly and spiritual journey of a Buddhist monk from Russia, who became one of the first preachers of Tibetan Buddhism in the United States. In 1923, as a young man, he left his home and spent over 30 years in Tibet and India, attaining the Buddhist degree of Geshe. He was a friend of the Dalai Lama and taught at Columbia University, dedicated his life to putting the Buddha's teachings into practice, and trained many talented students, increasing interest in Buddhism in the West.

Year
2022
Runtime
77 minutes
Language
English, Russian, Tibetan

Director
Ella Manzheeva
Producer
Anniko Films