waiting

synopsis

Holding his mother responsible for the emotional neglect surrounding his late father, Tenzin has spent years distancing himself from his family, burying his guilt in the high-stakes world of Wall Street finance. But when a reckless trade leaves his career in immediate ruin, Tenzin’s world begins to fracture.

That same late night, following a tense argument with his fiancée, a shattered Tenzin is summoned back to his empty office. There, he encounters Tashi, a cryptic night-shift custodian who bears an uncanny resemblance to a revered spiritual master.

When the custodian offers him a cup of traditional butter tea that tastes hauntingly of home, Tenzin is forced into a profound existential reckoning as Tashi’s sharp wit dismantles his defenses and forces him to face the devastating math of mortal time.

logline

After a reckless trade, an estranged Tibetan-American Wall Street trader undergoes a profound existential reckoning led by a cryptic night-shift custodian.

WATCH TRAILER  ---COMING SOON---

TSERING DORJEE BAWA

Tibetan-American actor, musician, and traditional opera performer. A graduate of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), Bawa’s distinguished film career includes roles in the Oscar-nominated Himalaya, Martin Scorsese’s Kundun, and the 2024 global hit Demonte Colony 2, a major commercial success.

He co-created the original soundtrack for the Emmy Award-winning documentary The Women of Tibet, was twice nominated for Outstanding Featured Performance for his work in the Off-Broadway production The Oldest Boy, and has frequently collaborated with Grammy-nominated Tibetan musician Tenzin Choegyal.

He will next be seen in Apple TV+’s highly anticipated biographical epic film Tenzing centered on Tenzing Norgay, the historic mountaineer to first summit Mount Everest.

LEADING CAST

DEKYI THONDEN GYALKHANG

A former government official, celebrated chef and the niece of the 5th Reting Rinpoche, (Thubten Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen) the Regent of Tibet who led the search that identified the 14th Dalai Lama. She is the real-life mother of filmmaker Rabyoung Thonden Gyalkhang, Dekyi makes her cinematic acting debut in Waiting, preparing for the role by studying acting at the University of Washington.

Prior to immigrating to the United States, Dekyi served as the Deputy Secretary of Finance for the Tibetan government-in-exile. Upon settling in the U.S., she launched a distinguished culinary career, blending traditional Lhasa-style Tibetan fine dining with modern fusion.

In 2011, The Seattle Times named her restaurant, Tingmomo, one of the city's top ten dining destinations. Throughout her culinary career, she collaborated with acclaimed celebrity chefs including Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau, and was featured on KOMO TV and the Food Network’s The United Tastes of America before retiring in 2018.

RABYOUNG THONDEN GYALKHANG

Tibetan-American filmmaker, actor, and designer. Born in Dharamshala, India, home to the Tibetan diaspora, he immigrated to the U.S. at sixteen.

After college, he built a career in finance and mobile technology before pivoting to his creative calling in cinema and multimedia design.

His previous credits include writing, producing, and directing the 2007 documentary Blood Over Nangpa La and co-starring in the feature film The Sweet Requiem (2019 TIFF Official Selection).

WAITING is his first narrative short, serving as writer, director, producer, editor, sound designer, VFX artist, and lead actor.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

An internationally acclaimed, award-winning filmmaking team. Together, they have directed and produced a globally celebrated body of work, including the seminal documentary The Sun Behind the Clouds and the critically acclaimed feature films Dreaming Lhasa and The Sweet Requiem (an Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival).

As pioneering voices in contemporary independent Tibetan cinema, their thoughtful guidance was invaluable to the initial script's journey.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

WAITING explores a tension I know intimately. It is the collision between the linear anxieties of Western capitalism and the cyclical, spiritual depth of my heritage.

Born from the personal grief of losing my father, the film examines how unresolved trauma distorts our closest bonds. Tenzin is a finance professional hiding behind his career to avoid his mother. He undergoes a modern version of the Milarepa narrative, navigating destructive choices in a desperate search for realization.

The film visually contrasts the cold blues of Wall Street with the warm textures of Tibetan practice. It uses dual casting, with one actor playing both a revered Rinpoche and a corporate custodian, to blur reality and internal fracture.

Ultimately, WAITING is a meditation on memory, guilt, and time. It is a cautionary tale about mending our broken connections before the door closes for good.

CREDITS

Graphic Designer

JIGME TASHI

BTS Photographer

JOHN CURRY

Art Production Assistants

HANK GROAT
MAILE QUENZER
JANIE ACKELS

Production Assistants

ALEEN MATIOSSIAN
ZACK JOHNSON

Equipment Vendors

KOERNER CAMERA SYSTEMS

RYAN ZEMPKE

GLAZER'S CAMERA

XANDER BRUCE

Post Production
Emage CUBE STUDIo

VFX Advisor
RYAN KIM LI

Production Company

OFFBEAT FILMS

Produced by

THOMAS ACKELS
KELSI LINDUS

Director of Photography

DANNY CHASTAIN

VFX / Sound Design / Color / Edited by

RABYOUNG THONDEN GYALKHANG

Production Designer

MONTANA TIPPETT

Costume Designer

RONALD LEAMON

Music by

JEREMY EUSEBIO

SPECIAL THANKS

MONKS OF DAKYAP MONASTERY (SOUTH INDIA)

PUNGEN GOMPA (MANASLU, NEPAL)

SAKYA MONASTERY (SEATTLE, WA) PEMA KHARPO (SEATTLE , WA)

M5 CREATIVE (SEATTLE, WA) MUSIC FOR THE EYES (LANGLEY, WA )

KHENPO JAMPA TENPHEL RINGZEN TINGKHYE ADRIENNE CHAN

ALL THE BACKGROUND PERFORMERS.

GYALKHANG FILMS PRESENTS

WAITING

CAST

(in order of appearance)

DEKYI THONDEN GYALKHANG

RABYOUNG THONDEN GYALKHANG

TSERING DORJEE BAWA

TENZING KALDEN

TENZIN THONDEN GYALKHANG

JOHN DOWNING (VOICE)

SAMANTHA REED (VOICE)

Written / Directed / Produced by

RABYOUNG THONDEN GYALKHANG

Executive Producers
DEKYI THONDEN GYALKHANG
RABYOUNG THONDEN GYALKHANG
TENZING SONAM
RITU SARIN
MIGMAR DETSEN KHANGSAR
LHAKPA KHANGSAR
THOMAS ACKELS
DANNY CHASTAIN

CREW

First Assistant Directors

TAYLOR PEDROZA
THOMAS ACKELS

First Assistant Camera

ADAM LAPINE
SANDRA GARCIA

Gaffer

ALEXANDER BRUCE

Key Grip

SCOTT CALVERT
TONY MIHOVILOVICH

Grip

MALLORY GILLIN

Production Sound Mixer

DAYAMI-LIZ VIDAL

Set Dresser

JESSICA CLEMENT

Wardrobe Stylist

GERARD PARR

Hair & Makeup

LINDSEY WATKINS

VERY SPECIAL THANKS

CASEY FARIS KYLER BOUDREAU GRAHAM HUNT JASON YADLOVSKI

FILMED ON LOCATION IN THE EMERALD CITY OF SEATTLE, WA USA

technical specIFICATIONs

Genre: Drama

Country of Origin: United States of America

Language: Tibetan and English (with English Subtitles)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Matted)

Frame Rate: 23.97 fps

Format: Arri Alexa 4K

Sound: Stereo Mix

WAITING - coming soon!

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