DIFF Virtual Viewing Room Screens February 4–13

The Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) invited our International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF) to program their Virtual Viewing Room running February 4–13, 2022.

IBFF chose to highlight the diversity of Buddhist traditions, with a program entitled “Mirrors and Projections: Diversity in Buddhist Cinema.”

The selections for the DIFF Virtual Viewing Room speak to the theme of diversity in Buddhist traditions, with films from six countries, including documentaries and dramas: Walk With Me, by Marc J. Francis and Max Pugh (UK); Mindfulness and Murder, by Tom Waller (Thailand); Return to Gandhi Road, by Yeshe Hegan (New Zealand); Buster Williams: Bass to Infinity, by Adam Kahan (USA); Painting Peace, by Babeth Mondini-VanLoo (Netherlands); and Music Monks, by Qiaoli Wang (China). 

The full program guide is available online.

DHARAMSHALA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (DIFF)

When filmmakers and longtime Dharamshala residents Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam started the Dharamshala International Film Festival in 2012, their main aim was to give the local community a platform to watch good alternative cinema. Ten years later, DIFF has become one of India’s leading independent film festivals and attracts audiences from across the country and further afield. The core mission of DIFF, however, has remained the same: to build a community united by a love of cinema. Home to both Sarin and Sonam, McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, has transformed from a sleepy town in the foothills of the Himalayas into a global destination— exile home to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, capital of the Tibetan diaspora, and a magnet for tourists, artists, and enterprising individuals alike. Dharamshala’s understated cosmopolitanism and thriving environment full of cafes, bookstores, restaurants, and arts organizations has provided the ideal home for DIFF from its inception in 2012.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, DIFF has continued to collaborate remotely and has found creative ways to engage with their audience. With the support of DIFF alumni filmmakers and various partner organizations, DIFF’s year-round Virtual Viewing Room continues to bring quality cinema to wider audiences, for free.

Its latest offerings, in collaboration with the International Buddhist Film Festival, offers a selection of six films exploring the various facets of Buddhism from different countries and cultures. These screenings are free and open to audiences (in Asia only), from February 4–13,2022.

DIFF Virtual Viewing Room official website.

Buddhist Film Foundation is proud to serve as fiscal sponsor to DIFF.