TIBETAN FILM SERIES
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Sponsored by The Religious Studies Program and the Fulbright College Honors Program of Fulbright College

All films will be shown in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main on the University of Arkansas campus, beginning at 7:00 p.m. 

Geshe Thupten Dorjee, Pasang Gelek, and Rinzin Dorjee will provide an introductory chant, and will be available to answer questions about the films and about their lives in exile.  The films are free and open to the public.

Wednesday, October 17: Cry of the Snow Lion
Ten years in the making, this award-winning documentary is a definitive exploration of a legendary subject.  An epic story of courage and compassion, Cry of the Snow Lion features unprecedented imagery from Tibet, combined with riveting interviews and a collection of underground and archival footage never before assembled in one film.

• BEST DOCUMENTARY–Audience Award - Santa Barbara International Film Festival Audience Award - Bahamas International Film Festival
• SPECIAL JURY AWARD–Banff Mountain Film Festival - Trento Mountain Film Festival - Poprad Mountain Film Festival - Graz Mountain Film Festival
• OFFICIAL SELECTION–Toronto - Seattle - IFP Los Angeles - Bangkok - Sydney

Wednesday, November 14: Dharma River
Yatra is the Sanskrit word for pilgrimage or spiritual journey. As the first documentary in the Yatra Trilogy, Dharma River is a timeless journey through legendary rivers to the greatest Buddhist temples and mystical sites of Laos, Thailand, and Burma. It offers a direct experience of lost civilizations, sacred spaces, and ancient traditions.

Wednesday, February 20: Wheel of Time
Acclaimed director Werner Herzog’s extraordinary documentary of the Kalachakra initiation in Bodh Gaya, this film chronicles with breath-taking cinematography the pilgrimage of 500,000 Buddhists to see the Dalai Lama conduct this ancient initiation at the very place of the Buddha’s enlightenment.  This extraordinary documentary also contains a surprise appearance by Geshe Thupten Dorjee, currently in residence at the University of Arkansas.

Thursday, March 27: The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this documentary film provides an in-depth examination of death and dying in the remote mountain communities of Tibet as well as in a Western hospice.  Based on one of the most profound treatises of Buddhist spirituality, this film approaches the subject of mortality from a compassionate and intelligent perspective that is clear and unforgettable.

For more information, contact Professor Sidney Burris, Director, Religious Studies and Honors Studies, Fulbright College, University of Arkansas:  575-2509, or email at sburris(at)uark.edu.