The feature films of Bhutanese writer and director Khyentse Norbu have received accolades, honours, and awards at numerous international film festivals.

Norbu's first film, The Cup (1999), became an international sensation after its premiere screening at the Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Director's Fortnight. It went on to win critical acclaim and official selections at major festivals worldwide, including Sundance, Hong Kong, London, and Moscow. It won awards at four international festivals, including an International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award at Busan and an audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Norbu's second film, Travellers & Magicians (2003), was the first full-length feature film shot in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. It premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and went on to the Toronto, Busan, Taipei (Golden Horse), Sao Paulo, London, Sydney, Moscow, and other film festivals, winning three awards.

His third feature film, Vara: A Blessing (2013), based on a short story by Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay and filmed in Sri Lanka, attracted top international collaborators, including award-winning cinematographer Bradford Young and acclaimed editor William Chang. The film starred Indian ingénue Shahana Goswami. Vara premiered as the opening film at the Busan International Film Festival and went on to screen at several film festivals world-wide, including the BFI London Film Festival, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, and the Tribeca International Film Festival, where it had its North American premiere and won the Best Feature Film award at the Tribeca Online Film Festival. Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait (2016), Norbu's fourth feature film, is his most personal to date. Shot in remote parts of Bhutan on a very low budget, the film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and was screened at the Toronto, Busan, Singapore, and Malaysian International Film Festivals, and at the London BFI, JIO Mama (Mumbai), Osaka Asian, and Taipei Golden Horse Film Festivals among many others. The film won the audience choice award at the 2016 Golden Global Awards at the Malaysian International Film Festival and honourable mention at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

Known in the Buddhist world as Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Norbu brings to his films a profound and subtle mastery and understanding of Buddhist philosophy and practice. He studied and trained with some of the leading Tibetan Buddhist masters of the 20th century, graduated from secular schools in India and Europe, and teaches Buddhism on five continents. He is the author of several books on following the Buddhist path in the contemporary world, including the best-selling What Makes You Not a Buddhist.

Khyentse Norbu also oversees the nonprofit organizations Siddhartha's Intent, Khyentse Foundation, 84000, and Lotus Outreach as well as contemporary teaching and practice centres on five continents. He is responsible for the care and education of 1,600 monks in six monasteries and institutes in Asia, and is head of Dzongsar Monastery and College in Tibet, Dzongsar Khyentse Institute in India, and Chökyi Gyatso Institute for Buddhist Studies in Bhutan.

By Tashi Colman, secretary to Khyentse Norbu

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Khyentse Norbu

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