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Maui Film Festival director Barry Rivers and co-director Stella Rivers had the honor and privilege of presenting the inaugural Maui Film Festival Visionary Award to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama during his recent visit to Maui.

The Visionary Award was presented to honor H. H. the14th Dalai Lama's heartfelt and lifelong commitment to inspire Humanity to care for both each other and all life on Earth, to express the Maui Film Festival's appreciation for the many ways in which the deep wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism has inspired our commitment to present movies that set free tears of laughter, sorrow and joy in a world that doesn't always seem to make sense, and to acknowledge the appreciation of the people of Maui and the Earth for the ways in which H. H. the 14th Dalai Lama inspires millions and millions of people everywhere to live lives of greater patience, understanding, tolerance, compassion and love.

The Maui Film Festival would like to offer special thanks to Shep Gordon for bringing the Festival's interest in honoring H. H. the 14th Dalai Lama with the Visionary Award to his staff's attention, and for making available such a special moment for it to be presented. Thanks as well to the Aloha Friends for Compassion, the volunteers and employees of the Maui Dharma Center, the Maui Arts & Cultural Center and elsewhere, and to the many members of the Maui Film Festival at Wailea staff who were also hired to help organize what turned out to be a flawlessly planned visit to the island.

With Aloha,

Barry & Stella Rivers