I have something a little different for you today: a film! Actually you may want to save it for the weekend if you’re reading this at work. It’s a 55-minute film that was submitted to the Globians Film Festival.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Tibet and China. A similar story may be less familiar to some of us; Seventy years ago, the Soviet Union took over Mongolia. Buddhism was outlawed, monasteries were burned, and monks were killed. All expressions of Buddhism were banned, and the Mongolians lost much of their ancient culture. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, they were free to resume their art. This film is about the art, the artists, and the Buddhism behind that art.

The film mostly centers on Master Artist Lama Purevbat and his school of Mongolian art. The cinematography and imagery presented here is incredibly beautiful, as are the works of art that art shown. As the monasteries are rebuilt, the artwork is restored, the Mongolians simultaneously relearn Buddhism, the basis for their ancient culture.

Even if you aren’t an “art person,” this is worth watching. It’s subtitled and nearly an hour, so set aside some time to watch carefully. Comment below if you see anything you don’t understand or particularly enjoy.

If the embedded player does not work, you can download the entire film here (3 gb).