![[upper right side of an asian man in gold and red ornately patterned shiny robe and bright red conical fabric hat with straps below his chin, gazes downward towards lifted right hand holding two metal objects held up near his face, against a leafy green background with the head of a man in the same hat blocked by a maroon and gold patterned bowl with blue rim, at camera right]](https://buddhistfilmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/the-dalai-lamas-gift-slider-490x280-1.jpg "The Dalai Lama's Gift")
![[close up of the head of a woman with light colored long wet hair, floating in a lake with greenery at water’s edge]](https://buddhistfilmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/outrider-slider-490x280-1.jpg "Outrider")
![[older man with salt and pepper hair, moustache, and beard, wearing thin, circular, wire framed glasses, small gold hoop earrings in his left ear, and a dark gray shirt with light red patterns, smiles to camera, with a lush green background]](https://buddhistfilmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/o-mother-gaia-slider-490x280-1.jpg "O Mother Gaia")
IBFF Official Selection Screening:
The Dalai Lama’s Gift
The Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday year has seen several new films featuring him, and our next Official Selection Screening will be The Dalai Lama’s Gift, with Tibetan Buddhism scholar Roger Jackson joining Director Ed Bastian at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA.The film documents the first Kalachakra initiation held outside of Asia, a 1981 event that took place in rural Wisconsin. more>
IN MEMORIAM
![[smiling older man with grey hair and facial stubble gazes skyward amidst a background of green leafy trees]](https://buddhistfilmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/werner-penzel2-by-gkm-235x110-1.jpg)
Filmmaker Werner Penzel has died in Germany. He was 75 and had lived in Japan for many years. His feature documentary Zen for Nothing premiered in the USA as an International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF) 2018 Official Selection, and he was the cinematographer for an IBFF favorite, Doris Dörrie’s 1999 Enlightenment Guaranteed.
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OTHER FESTIVALS
![[black san-serif stacked text that reads lion's roar presents buddhafest (in red and light blue bold caps) films, talks, meditation, music]](https://buddhistfilmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/buddhafest-2025-235x110-1.jpg)
BuddhaFest celebrates its 15th anniversary with an online festival titled "15 Years of Light and Wisdom," presented in partnership with Lion’s Roar magazine July 14–August 24. Featuring a dozen films selected by our International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF), plus a special film in honor of the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, BuddhaFest hosts over 20 talks and a musical performance. more>
NOW STREAMING
![[bald headed smiling elderly man in bright red sleeveless shirt gestures with right hand while holding an open blue, yellow, and red paneled umbrella on his left shoulder, against a background of cement walkway and red flowered green bush]](https://buddhistfilmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/in-theaters-return-to-ghandi-road.jpg)
IBFF 2020 Official Selection Return to Gandhi Road by New Zealand director Yeshe Hegan, is now available to stream in the U.S. The U.S. premiere was delayed by the pandemic and took place at IBFF 2021. more>
