BuddhaFest, a film festival featuring spiritual talks, meditation and live music, returns to the Washington, D.C. area from Thursday, June 14 to Sunday, June 17.
Held at the Spectrum Theatre at Artisphere, 1611 N. Kent St. at corner of Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, the third annual event focuses on the effects that meditation and mindfulness are having on society.
The four-day festival, co-founded by Arlington resident, Gabriel Riera, with six films, seven talks and a kirtan music concert, is inspired by Buddhist practices of mindfulness and meditation. This year, the festival takes a look at how mindfulness has made its way to the West, and how it is informing the approach to neuroscience, the environment, social issues, personal relationships, psychology and politics.
Film screenings will include the world premiere of “When the Bird Flies,” directed by Victress Hitchcock, whose previous work was the film, “Blessings,” and “Connected,” directed by Tiffany Schlain, which premiered at the Sundance Festival.
Speakers include: Rick Hanson, author of “Buddha’s Brain,” an authority on the neuroscience of mindfulness; Tim Ryan, whose new book, “A Mindful Nation,” explores the growing presence of mindfulness in various areas of American life, and Tara Brach, founding teacher of the D.C. area’s largest meditation community, the Insight Meditation Community of Washington.
Highlighting the festival will be a concert by kirtan sacred music artist Krishna Das.
BuddhaFest tickets, schedule, transportation and parking information at www.buddhafest.org. Prices range from $12.50 for some events to $185 for a four-day pass.