The International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF) completed its Showcase Season at the end of June 2018, presenting five films, including two US premieres, in screening events in Washington, DC; Los Angeles; and the San Francisco Bay area. One title secured a distribution deal right after its US premiere.
US PREMIERE LANDS THEATRICAL DEAL
The US premieres of Zen for Nothing, directed by Werner Penzel, and Honeygiver Among the Dogs, by Dechen Roder, were hosted by the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington, DC, along with screenings of Golden Kingdom, by Brian Perkins, My Son Tenzin, by Tsultrim Dorjee and Tashi Wangchuk, and The Three Marks of Existence, directed by Gunparwitt Phuwadolwisid. The films are from Japan, Bhutan, Myanmar, the US, and Thailand, respectively, and directors Werner Penzel, Brian Perkins, and Tashi Wangchuk attended, along with the lead actor of My Son Tenzin, Tsering Dorji Bawa, who performed several Tibetan songs before the screening of his film.
Zen for Nothing and Honeygiver Among the Dogs had their west coast premieres at the Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles as part of BuddhaFest | LA 2018. Werner Penzel, who resides in Japan, attended. The Bay Area’s leading nonprofit cineplex, the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael was host to screenings of both these films as well as My Son Tenzin, with co-director Tsultrim Dorjee and Tsering Dorjee Bawa in person.
Zen for Nothing has been picked up for distribution in North America by art house distributor Zeitgeist Films/Kino Lorber, and a ten city theatrical release is planned for early 2019.
