The Buddhist Arts and Film Festival (BAFF) will return to Boulder, Colorado, from 11–14 September at the Dairy Arts Center, offering four days of screenings, performances, and workshops under the 2025 theme “Ground.” Now in its sixth year, the festival continues its mission of presenting Buddhist-inspired cinema and artistic expression while creating space for community and dialogue.
Founded in 2019 by filmmaker and hospice nurse Laura Weiss, the BAFF has grown steadily in scope and attendance. “There’s been a lot of momentum from last year and a lot of interest, which is wonderful,” Weiss said. “We’re expanding to four days, and I’m really excited about what we’re offering.” (Boulder Daily Camera)
The festival will open with the premiere of The Dalai Lama’s Gift, a documentary by director Ed Bastian featuring archival footage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s first Kalachakra initiation in the West. The 1981 ritual, conducted in a temporary temple erected in a Wisconsin cornfield, introduced more than 1,000 participants to one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most advanced teachings. The film draws on footage preserved for decades in the Smithsonian Institution. “It’s an incredible film,” Weiss said. “To see this moment in history, the Dalai Lama’s first Kalachakra in the West, and to finally share it with audiences is a very, very big deal.” (Boulder Daily Camera)
Opening night will also feature a performance by Grammy-nominated Tibetan flautist Nawang Khechog, who contributed music to the documentary, followed by a discussion with Khechog and Bastian.
This year’s festival coincides with the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday and features several films reflecting his teachings and legacy. These include the Colorado premiere of Wisdom of Happiness, which portrays His Holiness addressing contemporary global challenges, and Women of Tibet: Gyalyum Chemo — The Great Mother, a film highlighting the life of the Dalai Lama’s mother, Dekyi Tsering. Weiss described the latter as illustrating “the ground of the Buddhist path rooted in values of compassion, nurturing, unconditional love, and the importance of developing loving kindness.” (Boulder Daily Camera)
Other films include: One Mind: A Zen Pilgrimage, depicting daily practice in a Chinese Chan monastery; Pig at the Crossing, the latest feature by Bhutanese director Khyentse Norbu; The Lion’s Roar, profiling the 16th Karmapa; Blessings: The Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns of Tibet, which documents nunneries in eastern Tibet; and O Mother Gaia: The World of Gary Snyder, a portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Zen teacher.
Beyond cinema, BAFF integrates performance and movement. Workshops will include the Dance of Universal Peace, described by Weiss as “meditation in action,” and live music from Born I, a Washington, D.C.-based hip-hop artist and meditation teacher. Known for his “hip-hop soundbaths” that combine rhythm with mindfulness, Born I has performed at venues ranging from Electric Daisy Carnival to the Kennedy Center.
“This festival really is open to everybody, not just Buddhists,” Weiss emphasized. “It’s more about mindfulness and shared humanity—like how to be a better human being, how to work with our minds, how to deal with struggles and suffering and loneliness. These are things we all share, and these films and performances can help us work with them in a better way.” (Boulder Daily Camera)
Weiss added that the programming is designed with younger audiences in mind, noting the role of technology, art, and contemporary music in sustaining Buddhist practice today.
“Buddhism has changed a lot over my 25 years in practice,” she said. “We’re in a different world now, with AI, with technology, with so much disconnection. People need different methods than they did 20 years ago. That’s why we’re including music, art, poetry, dance. They’re all different ways to live a saner life.” (Boulder Daily Camera)
Festival passes and individual tickets are available through the official website.
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Buddhist Arts and Film Festival
Get ‘Grounded’ at Boulder’s Buddhist Arts and Film Festival with dance, dharma and ‘hip-hop soundbaths’ (Boulder Daily Camera)
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