This feature-length documentary transports us to Tibet in the immediate aftermath of a severe earthquake, where we meet Dawa. A bard famous for his spirited telling of the epic story of Tibet’s King Gesar, Dawa gained work for the Chinese government as a guardian of national cultural heritage. But after the earthquake levels his village, Dawa sees the Chinese accelerate their local redevelopment project and wonders how the lessons of antiquity can offer guidance for the rapidly changing world that surrounds him.

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Does Western Buddhism encourage its adherents to serenely ignore their participation in the capitalist machine? So says prominent Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, whose pointed critique was inspired by this documentary. Featuring commentary from speakers as diverse as Tibetan Buddhist teacher Dzongzar Khyentse Rinpoche and economist Arnoud Boot, Sandcastles breaks open the murky subject of financial trade with insights from both Buddhists and economists.

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What happens when our human foibles follow us on retreat? While leading his first meditation intensive, the film’s protagonist, Alex, struggles to maintain inner balance in a situation beyond his control. Set against the lush Welsh countryside, this short film examines the fragility of the contemplative life when the outside world intrudes.

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From the director of Samsara comes Faith Connections, a film that takes us to the Kumbh Mela, a mass pilgrimage of 100 million Hindus—the largest peaceful gathering in the world. There, we encounter remarkable men of mind and meditation, some facing an inextricable dilemma: to embrace the world or to renounce it.

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This feature-length documentary follows three generations of Tibetan Buddhist nuns living in Nepal. See what happens when issues of spirituality, gender, and modernity converge upon these otherwise quiet Buddhist outposts.

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One in every 15 Americans belongs to this film’s eponymous group of “Anonymous People”—that is, people recovering from alcohol or drug addiction. In this feature-length documentary, many individuals—from politicians to beauty queens—emerge from the shadows of social stigma to fight for a compassionate approach to their illness.

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The Golden Land of Myanmar journeys to a place in the world called Suvanabhumi, the Golden Land in the Mon State of Myanmar. This beautiful and auspicious land has remained a hidden treasure, unseen and untouched by the modern world. The film explores several ancient Buddhist pagodas that have only recently been rediscovered and renovated.

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Margaret Atwood’s visionary work Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth is the basis for this riveting and poetic documentary on “debt” in its various forms—societal, personal, environmental, spiritual, criminal, and of course, economic.

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The documentary Souls of Zen – Buddhism, Ancestors, and the 2011 Tsunami in Japan presents perspectives on Buddhism as practiced by clergy, lay adherents, and families in Japan by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork on the daily life of Buddhist temples, monastic education, prayer practice, mortuary rituals, and Japan’s tradition of ancestor veneration in the wake of 3/11.

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Interweaving visually stunning footage and insightful interviews with people determined to heal themselves and those around them, this film becomes a remarkable testament to the human spirit as it uncovers the human potential to transform the “scared” into the “sacred.”

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In China, it is simply known as “The River.” But the Yangtze—and all of the life that surrounds it—is undergoing a truly astonishing transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam. Canadian documentary filmmaker Yung Chang returns to the gorgeous, now-disappearing landscape of his grandfather’s youth to trace the surreal life of a “farewell cruise” that traverses the gargantuan waterway.

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