Join Student Affairs and Campus Life, the Fine Arts Center and the International Campaign for Tibet for this free film screening and panel discussion featuring actor and UMass alumnus Richard Gere. Admission is free, but space is limited, and advance registration is strongly recommended. Gere is one of the executive producers of the 2024 documentary film Wisdom of Happiness, which offers an intimate and inspiring portrait of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, one of the world’s most influential spiritual leaders and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Through personal reflections and conversations, Wisdom of Happiness explores compassion as a practical response to today's greatest challenges — from conflict and loneliness to climate change and social division. The film invites audiences to see compassion not as an abstract ideal, but a way of living that can transform individuals, communities, and society. WIth its message of hope, resilience, and shared humanity, Wisdom of Happiness speaks to people of many backgrounds and beliefs. A post-screening panel discussion moderated by Monte Belmonte of New England Public Media’s The Fabulous 413 will include Gere, US Representative Jim McGovern, and Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet. Dhardon Sharling, lecturer of communication, UMass Amherst will serve as emcee for the evening. This event is presented with support from the Fine Arts Center's Education and Engagement department and Asian and Asian American Arts and Cultures Program.