Welcome
The International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF) presents, archives and preserves Buddhist-themed and -inspired cinema of all kinds: features, documentaries, animation, experimental work, children's films and television programs. Many will be seen outside of their home countries for the first time. IBFF is a unique resource serving audiences, educators and filmmakers in partnership with presenting institutions around the world (see Events).

The IBFF is a program of Buddhist Film Society, Inc. (BFS), an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization based in Oakland, California, USA. Founded by Buddhist scholars, authors, activists and filmmakers, BFS has assembled a diverse Advisory Council currently including Maxine Hong Kingston, Peter Coyote, Philip Glass, Lisa Lu, Richard Gere, Huston Smith, Robert Thurman, Alice Walker, Pico Iyer and others. The members of the Board of Directors are Judith Brown, Ellen Bruno, Steven Goodman, Gaetano Kazuo Maida, and Steven Rood.

Programming
The International Buddhist Film Festival offers cinema as a vehicle for wider appreciation and better understanding of Buddhism by general audiences, particularly for the remarkable ethnic and cultural diversity evident among Buddhists worldwide today. Works to be exhibited are chosen through a combination of program committee invitations as well as through international Call For Entries solicitations. Films include English language or subtitled works from all over the world, and embrace a very broad and fluid definition of “buddhist.”