Forty-five years ago, His Holiness the Dalai Lama received a humble request from Geshe Sopa, a revered Tibetan Buddhist monk in America: to perform the Kalachakra initiation—a powerful tantric ritual never before held outside of India or Tibet—in the heart of rural Wisconsin.

In just a few months, the monk’s devoted students overcame local resistance, built a temple from the ground up, and transformed a Midwestern cornfield into a site of ancient wisdom and spiritual awakening, attracting over 1000 attendees from around the world in 1981.

Captured on 16mm film which was then locked away in Smithsonian vaults for over 40 years, this long-lost footage resurfaces to reveal a story of devotion, transformation, and a moment when time, space, and tradition converged in the unlikeliest of places. Carefully digitized and expanded with recent interviews with some of the key participants, plus a unique 3D computer animation of the Kalachakra mandala, The Dalai Lama’s Gift is rare, a cinematic meditation on faith, legacy, and the power of one sacred encounter to ripple across generations.

Featuring HH the 14th Dalai Lama, Geshe Sopa, Sharpa Tulka, Losang Samten, Jose Cabezón, Jan Willis, Jeffrey Hopkins, and others.

Director: Ed Bastian (US 2024) 76min.