Interview with Márta György-Kessler - Director, Meeting The Buddha

Internationally acclaimed feature documentary, Meeting the Buddha is about to premiere in Perth, this Thursday, 26 February 2026, offering an intimate, cinematic exploration of Tibetan Buddhism’s journey into the modern world through one of its most influential spiritual lineages.

The screening comes at a significant moment as Perth is home to a large and diverse Buddhist community, particularly in the southern suburbs, and the largest Bhutanese population in the Southern Hemisphere outside Bhutan. And an international Buddhism conference is also about to take place in Perth from 25 February to 1 March.

According to the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, 2.4% of Australians—approximately 615,000 people—identify as Buddhist, making it the fourth-largest religion in Australia.

Back to the film, created by an international filmmaking team from the United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary and Denmark, in collaboration with venerable Tibetan Lamas, Meeting the Buddha is produced by The Beautiful Truth, the award-winning film and storytelling studio known for documentaries that explore purpose, impact and humanity.

Blending rare archival footage, original animation, intimate interviews and contemporary reflections, the film traces the extraordinary life and legacy of the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and his profound relationship with Lama Ole Nydahl, a young Danish seeker whose life was transformed by a chance encounter with the Karmapa in 1969.

Through this bond between teacher and student, Meeting the Buddha tells a richly historical yet deeply personal story of courage, friendship and spiritual transmission—revealing how timeless wisdom found its way from the monasteries of Tibet into contemporary life across the globe.

”Meeting the Buddha is a story of friendship, risk and transformation, told across continents and decade,” says Director Marta Gyorgy-Kessler.

“It brings together rare archival footage, animation and intimate interviews to show how a chance encounter in 1969 helped carry Tibetan Buddhism into contemporary life — and why that story still matters today.”

The film captures the remarkable presence of the 16th Karmapa—often referred to as a ‘Living Buddha’—from his early years in Tibet, through exile in India, to his visionary commitment to sharing Buddhist teachings with the modern world.

Alongside him, audiences meet Ole Nydahl, once a wild young hippy from Denmark who, as a child, declared his ambition to become the “Danish champion of mind.” Together with his wife Hannah Nydahl, Ole became instrumental in bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, helping establish hundreds of meditation centres from Mexico City to Vladivostok and carrying forward their teacher’s vision with unshakable dedication.

Set against political upheaval in Tibet and cultural transformation in the West, Meeting the Buddha honours the living transmission of the Karma Kagyu lineage and the enduring relationship between teacher and student that sustains it.

The director, Márta György-Kessler, first encountered Buddhism through Ole and Hannah Nydahl in 1990. Meeting the Buddha follows her award-winning documentary Hannah – Buddhism’s Untold Journey, which screened internationally and was featured on Netflix.

Márta György-Kessler

In 2025 alone, Meeting the Buddha has earned 13 international awards at jury-only screenings, including four Awards of Excellence from the IndieFEST Film Awards, The Impact DOCS Awards and Docs Without Borders.

The Australian premiere of Meeting the Buddha will take place in Perth on 26 February with national dates commencing from March. Screening dates:

· Perth – 26 February (Event Cinemas Innaloo)

· Melbourne – 3 March (Eclipse Cinema)

· Albury – 4 March (Regent Cinemas)

· Canberra – 4 March (Palace Electric)

· Sydney – 7 March (Palace Moore Park)

· Newcastle – 9 March (Kotara)

· Byron Bay – 16 March (Palace Byron Bay)

Our Editor, Michael Barker, was pleased to meet Márta György-Kessler by Zoom ahead of the Australian premiere of Meeting The Buddha and to make the podcast you will find below (at the very foot of this post) in which we discuss the prize winning documentary and what it sets out to achieve.

By Michael Barker, Editor, Fremantle Shipping News

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