PAD YATRA - A GREEN ODYSSEY
Film poster for "Pad Yatra - A Green Odyssey" with illustration of group of people walking through mountain.
PAD YATRA - A GREEN ODYSSEY
Film poster for "Pad Yatra - A Green Odyssey" with illustration of group of people walking through mountain.
A bottom up environmental movement: One Buddhist trek to save the Himalayas

PAD YATRA - A GREEN ODYSSEY

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BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM - Big Bear Film Festival | DIRECTOR'S CHOICE: BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM - Sedona International Film Festival

Asian • Asian American • Buddhism • Environment • Himalayan Studies • Religion • Women

Date of Completion: 2013 | Run Time: 72 minutes​​ | Language: English & Tibetan with English subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript Director: Wendy J. N. Lee | Producer: Michelle Yeoh | Narrator: Daryl Hannah

PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey weaves ancient Buddhist spiritual traditions, global environmentalism, and Tibetan and Himalayan culture into an award-winning documentary that spotlights the ways a community-based movement can begin to solve one of the most pressing problems of our time. Viewers are invited to join the adventure of 700 people, trekking across the Himalayas with a call to save the planet’s “3rd Pole,” a glacial region now devastated by the climate chaos associated with global warming. Led by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, these brave trekkers commit themselves to take responsibility for the land they tread upon, collecting plastic litter, helping sick animals, and investigating areas devastated by "natural" disasters along the way. Shot with solar power by Himalayan monk Ngawang Sodpa, PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey gives unprecedented access into religious communities rarely seen on film. An inspiring model of personal and collective responsibility for our planet for viewers everywhere.

Video Librarian
"An engaging look at an interesting expedition with both spiritual and environmental roots (since the inauguration of the Pad Yatra in 2009, other walks have taken place in 2012 and 2013), this is recommended."

University of Hawai'i | Dr. Leslie E. Sponsel, Professor of Anthropology, Author, Spiritual Ecology: A Quiet Revolution
"This truly awesome film is disheartening because of the terrible suffering of innocent local people and their homeland caused by distant people through their careless pollution of the atmosphere resulting in global climate change. However, it is heartening because of the practical spiritual ecology of the Buddhist pilgrims unselfishly and courageously trekking through the treacherous terrain of the Himalayas to show by example their compassion and loving kindness for all beings and nature in general. It will stimulate viewers to think more seriously about acting green."

University of Washington | Dr. Nathalie Williams, Assistant Professor Department of Sociology & the Jackson School of International Studies
"Superb cinematography and an open and realistic portrayal of the peoples and cultures of the Himalayas bring Pad Yatra to life. The Drukpa's combination of extensive Buddhist learning and an open and kind spirit make his example both impressive and accessible. Overall, Pad Yatra gives not just an example of what can and should be done to care for our planet, but also the reasons why we should want to do it"

Winner of 10 International Awards
Best Environmental Film | Big Bear Film Festival
Audience Award | Big Bear Film Festival
Director's Choice: Best Environmental Film | Sedona International Film Festival

SCREENINGS

United Nations Association of New York, A Hosted Screening at The Asia Society

Wendy J.N. Lee is an award-winning writer and director from Los Angeles, California. She has screened her film PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey at numerous schools, film festivals and events nationally and internationally including the Yale University Himalayan Initiative, Illinois Wesleyan University, Augustana College, University of Oxford, Columbia Medical School, United Nations in New York and ASIANetwork. She is the author of a book on Ladakh, India in the Himalayas, where PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey was shot. It's a guidebook that incorporates local histories, current events, and things never before printed about the place. Wendy’s music videos have been distributed by MTV Networks and Fox Searchlight. Wendy is an alumna of the USC School of Cinematic Arts MFA Program and Boston College. She volunteers regularly in the Himalayas, and her hobbies include surfing and performing improv and stand-up comedy.