BuddhaFest - Bodhisattva

East Coast Premiere

BuddhaFest is very pleased to present the new film, BODHISATTVA - THE JOURNEY OF THE SEVENTEENTH GYALWA KARMAPA. This is only the third public screening of the film anywhere in the world. BODHISATTVA is a rare look at the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa, one of the most important Lamas in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Many view him as the natural successor to the Dalai Lama, and the face of Tibetan Buddhism for a new generation.

The film follows this young man of extraordinary warmth, humanity and charisma as he embarks on his first tour of the United States -- where he speaks to packed auditoriums and delights in encountering this new world of the West.

"He's a young man who wants to explore the world," says director Mark Elliott. "I tried to capture his journey of encountering the West, encountering new minds, encountering new ideas, and opening up to a new reality."

The film interweaves the tour with superb archival footage of the Karmapa’s childhood in Tibet, sequences in Bodhgaya and Dharamsala, India, and film of the previous, Sixteenth, Karmapa.

BODHISATTVA shows us "this extraordinary young being of infinite promise," says Elliott. "I'd like people to have a direct experience through the film of this wonderful young being who actually holds a great hope."

Director Mark Elliott, who also directed THE LION’S ROAR, the seminal film on the Sixteenth Karmapa, will be present to take questions from the audience

Watch director Mark Elliott talk about BODHISATTVA