NYWIFT Blog

By Lily Hutcheson

Welcome to NYWIFT, Tenzin Sedon!

Tenzin Sedon is a Tibetan filmmaker from Tibet, and an MFA candidate in the Graduate Film Program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her work spans narrative, documentary, and experimental forms.

She has received numerous awards, including the Hot Docs Best Canadian Short Documentary and the Golden Mountain Award, and has been nominated for the Hot Docs CrossCurrents Doc Fund (CCDF) and Docs Port Incheon.

She is a recipient of the 2025 Ang Lee Scholarship. Her films have screened internationally and been exhibited at major institutions.

NYWIFT Member Tenzin Sedon

Welcome to NYWIFT! Please introduce yourself briefly to our readers.

Hi everyone! I’m Tenzin Sedon, a filmmaker from Tibet, currently pursuing my MFA in Film Production at NYU Tisch.

I work across narrative, documentary, and experimental forms, often exploring themes of identity, memory, and time. So far, I’ve made two feature-length documentaries and several short narrative films.

I’m interested in how cinema can capture the invisible—moments of silence, emotion, and transformation that exist between time and space.

Tenzin collaborated with NYU peers to make her first film in New York, Border.

What brings you to NYWIFT?

I’m really happy to be part of this community of women in film. For me, filmmaking is not just about creating work—it’s also about connection, dialogue, and support. I’m excited to learn from others, share experiences, and be inspired by the many voices that make up NYWIFT.

Tenzin shooting her independent documentary, A Road of Prayer, in Tibet.

How did you become interested in filmmaking, and documentaries specifically?

I started making films because I had stories I wanted to tell, and feelings I couldn’t express in words.

For me, documentary filmmaking feels a bit like a spiritual practice—it’s about looking outward and inward at the same time.

While I observe and film others, I’m also discovering parts of myself. The closer I get to my subjects, the closer I come to understanding who I am.

Tenzin worked with her NYU friends on her second New York-based film, Duet.

Can you tell us a bit about the process of making your documentary A Road of Prayer?

A Road of Prayer (2015–2016) was my first feature documentary, filmed in Lhasa, my hometown. After being away for many years, I returned with my camera as a way to reconnect— with my city, with the people, and with my own memories.

The film follows three parallel stories connected by place, time, and the rhythm of the city’s prayer road (Kora). It became a journey not just about documenting change, but about rediscovering belonging.

Tenzin directed her short film Beans and Belief in Tibet.

Are there any themes or subjects that are especially important to your work?

I’ve always been fascinated by time—how it’s felt differently across cultures and within each person’s experience.

Growing up in a Buddhist environment in Tibet, I was deeply influenced by the idea that time doesn’t exist on its own—it only arises in thought and memory.

In my films, I try to explore how cinema can translate these invisible experiences into something emotional and tangible, something the audience can feel rather than just understand.

Tenzin served as DP on Urdaibaiko Sakrifizioa, a short film directed by Galder Irusta in Spain.

Do you have any current or upcoming projects you’re excited about?

Yes! I’m currently working on a short film called Beans and Belief, my second-year project at NYU. It’s a hybrid work that blends documentary and narrative, filmed in Lhasa.

The story centers on time—how it flows, pauses, and transforms. I shot it on both 16mm film and digital, allowing the textures to speak to different dimensions of memory and reality.

All the people in the film are non-professional actors playing themselves. Their presence brings a kind of authenticity that can’t be scripted.

Through this project, I hope to create a meditative cinematic space—where reality and the surreal overlap, and time becomes something you can experience in the cinema.

Connect with Tenzin Sedon on Instagram at @tenzinsedon.

(All images courtesy of Tenzin Sedon)