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Buddhist Shorts Film Festival

Ring in the New Year with Tricycle at our first-ever live Buddhist Shorts Film Festival. On Tuesday, January 29 at the Here Now Space in the heart of the West Village in New York City, we’ll be featuring five short films from around the world.

Among the cinematic journeys in store, we’ll trail a group of Chinese Buddhist nuns on pilgrimage in the Canadian Rockies, watch people try out virtual reality for the first time, and reflect on the difficulty of living in the present moment with Little Vaysha, a young girl with a double-edged gift. We’ll also be showcasing artwork from Tibetan artist and grandson of the late Gelek Rinpoche, Ben Chatag Paljor.

Come mingle with Tricycle’s editors and contributors, filmmakers, artists, and fellow movie buffs during an evening of shorts that you won’t find anywhere else. Stick around after the screening on opening night for a Q&A discussion with a few of the filmmakers, which will be followed by a wine and cheese reception.

If you miss the premiere, not to worry—you can join us for a second showing of the shorts on Thursday, January 31. Check out our slate of must-see Buddhist shorts below.

Beat the rush and book your tickets in advance.

We hope to see you at our festival kickoff!

2019 Shorts Lineup

Quick Sand: The Kalachakra Mandala
Directed by Jacob Wise / 2018 / US / 15 min.

Watch in awe as a group of dedicated Tibetan Buddhist monks at Namgyal monastery in upstate New York work day and night to build an elaborate Kalachakra [Wheel of Time] sand mandala, only to dismantle it as part of the final ceremonial offering.

Blind Vaysha
Directed by Theodore Ushev / 2016 / Canada / 8 min.

Cursed with a green left eye that sees only the past and a brown right eye that glimpses the future, Little Vaysha is split between two worlds. Adapted from a story penned by Bulgarian playwright Georgi Gospodinover, Vaysha’s parable is the subject of this Oscar-contender for best animated short, which speaks volumes about our difficulty to live in the present.

Seeing Through
Directed by Jordan Quaglia / 2018 / US / 11 min.

This humorous short doc, directed by a Buddhist neuroscientist and experimental psychologist, captures people’s responses to illusory 3D worlds as they try out virtual reality for the first time.

In Ordinary Life
Directed by Lina Verchery / 2013 / Canada / 9 min.

An award-winning independent filmmaker and scholar of religions turns her camera to a community of Chinese Buddhist nuns on pilgrimage in the Canadian Rockies.

A Thousand Mothers
Directed by Kim Shelton / 2016 / Myanmar / 39 min.

Shot on-site at a 118-year-old nunnery on the banks of Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River, this short film takes an unprecedented look into the daily grind of pink and saffron-robed Buddhist nuns, ranging from age seven to seventy, who have found refuge, education, and friendship amid external hardships.

$25

Tricycle: The Buddhist Review is a print and digital magazine dedicated to making Buddhist teachings and practices broadly available. Tricycle also offers monthly spiritual films online, podcasts with leading Buddhist voices, weekly dharma talk videos, online courses with expert teachers, and pilgrimages to Buddhist sites across the globe.

Here Now Space is a new multimedia venue for creation and collaboration. They host yoga and meditation classes, workshops, talks, art exhibitions, and more.











When: Thu., Jan. 31, 2019 - Fri., Feb. 1, 2019 at 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Ring in the New Year with Tricycle at our first-ever live Buddhist Shorts Film Festival. On Tuesday, January 29 at the Here Now Space in the heart of the West Village in New York City, we’ll be featuring five short films from around the world.

Among the cinematic journeys in store, we’ll trail a group of Chinese Buddhist nuns on pilgrimage in the Canadian Rockies, watch people try out virtual reality for the first time, and reflect on the difficulty of living in the present moment with Little Vaysha, a young girl with a double-edged gift. We’ll also be showcasing artwork from Tibetan artist and grandson of the late Gelek Rinpoche, Ben Chatag Paljor.

Come mingle with Tricycle’s editors and contributors, filmmakers, artists, and fellow movie buffs during an evening of shorts that you won’t find anywhere else. Stick around after the screening on opening night for a Q&A discussion with a few of the filmmakers, which will be followed by a wine and cheese reception.

If you miss the premiere, not to worry—you can join us for a second showing of the shorts on Thursday, January 31. Check out our slate of must-see Buddhist shorts below.

Beat the rush and book your tickets in advance.

We hope to see you at our festival kickoff!

2019 Shorts Lineup

Quick Sand: The Kalachakra Mandala
Directed by Jacob Wise / 2018 / US / 15 min.

Watch in awe as a group of dedicated Tibetan Buddhist monks at Namgyal monastery in upstate New York work day and night to build an elaborate Kalachakra [Wheel of Time] sand mandala, only to dismantle it as part of the final ceremonial offering.

Blind Vaysha
Directed by Theodore Ushev / 2016 / Canada / 8 min.

Cursed with a green left eye that sees only the past and a brown right eye that glimpses the future, Little Vaysha is split between two worlds. Adapted from a story penned by Bulgarian playwright Georgi Gospodinover, Vaysha’s parable is the subject of this Oscar-contender for best animated short, which speaks volumes about our difficulty to live in the present.

Seeing Through
Directed by Jordan Quaglia / 2018 / US / 11 min.

This humorous short doc, directed by a Buddhist neuroscientist and experimental psychologist, captures people’s responses to illusory 3D worlds as they try out virtual reality for the first time.

In Ordinary Life
Directed by Lina Verchery / 2013 / Canada / 9 min.

An award-winning independent filmmaker and scholar of religions turns her camera to a community of Chinese Buddhist nuns on pilgrimage in the Canadian Rockies.

A Thousand Mothers
Directed by Kim Shelton / 2016 / Myanmar / 39 min.

Shot on-site at a 118-year-old nunnery on the banks of Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River, this short film takes an unprecedented look into the daily grind of pink and saffron-robed Buddhist nuns, ranging from age seven to seventy, who have found refuge, education, and friendship amid external hardships.

$25

Tricycle: The Buddhist Review is a print and digital magazine dedicated to making Buddhist teachings and practices broadly available. Tricycle also offers monthly spiritual films online, podcasts with leading Buddhist voices, weekly dharma talk videos, online courses with expert teachers, and pilgrimages to Buddhist sites across the globe.

Here Now Space is a new multimedia venue for creation and collaboration. They host yoga and meditation classes, workshops, talks, art exhibitions, and more.

Buy tickets/get more info now