——纪录片《空海传》点映会在加州成功举办
Kukai’s Spirit Shines in California —
Preview Screenings of the Documentary “Kūkai” Successfully Held in California
美国汉天卫视5月18日报道
2026年4月，纪录片《空海传》11场点映会在美国加州成功举办。点映活动纵观加州南北，持续21天，在文化多元、科技发达的美国西海岸掀起一场感受东方文明、体悟慈悲精神的文化热潮。观看影片的近1700名观众，包括美国本地民众与亚裔社群，大家肤色不同、信仰各异、文化背景丰富多彩，都被影片所传递的空海精神深深震撼，沉浸在影片营造的文化氛围与精神场域中感动不已，久久回味。
In April 2026, the documentary Kūkai held 11 preview screenings across California, USA. The screening events spanned north to south over 21 days, sparking a cultural wave on the diverse, tech‑advanced West Coast that invited audiences to experience Eastern civilisation and the compassionate spirit it embodies. Nearly 1,700 viewers, including both local Americans and members of Asian communities, people of different skin colors, faiths, and cultural backgrounds, were deeply moved by the spirit of Kūkai conveyed in the film. They immersed themselves in the film’s cultural atmosphere and spiritual field and were profoundly touched, leaving a lasting impression.
《空海传》是中国首部全面展现高僧空海（弘法大师）生平的纪录片。空海是真言宗（唐密）第八代祖师，也是中华文化的海外传承者、弘扬者、发展者。空海无惧狂风巨浪，渡海入唐随唐代真言宗七祖惠果法师学习真言密教，学成回国后，他不仅将密教系统传入日本，开创日本真言宗，而且将唐代先进文化和生产技术引入日本，创造性地运用中华文化精华塑造日本文化，有力推动了古代日本的文化发展和社会进步。《空海传》力图以影视语言再现空海波澜壮阔的人生历程，彰显空海多方面的伟大贡献，如实展现空海作为一代密教大师灵明自在的心灵境界和救度众生的慈悲愿行，深刻揭示在古代落后的交通通讯条件下，面对山海阻隔，不同文化乃至不同文明交流互鉴得以开展的深层动力，为今天多元文化、多样文明和谐共存、交流互鉴带来有益的启示。
Documentary Kūkai is China’s first documentary to comprehensively portray the life of the eminent monk Kūkai (Master Kōbō Dashi). Kūkai was the eighth patriarch of Shingon (Tang Esoteric) Buddhism and a transmitter, promoter, and developer of Chinese culture overseas. Undaunted by wild winds and high waves, he crossed the sea to Tang China to study esoteric Buddhism under Master Huiguo, the seventh patriarch of Tang Shingon. After completing his studies and returning home, he not only introduced the esoteric teachings to Japan and founded Japanese Shingon Buddhism, but also brought Tang China’s advanced culture and production techniques to Japan, creatively applying the essence of Chinese culture to shape Japanese culture and effectively promoting Japan’s cultural development and social progress in ancient times. Documentary Kūkai aims to use cinematic language to recreate Kūkai’s sweeping life journey and highlight his many major contributions. The film faithfully shows Kūkai’s spiritually lucid, free state of mind and his compassionate vow to save sentient beings. It probes how, despite sluggish ancient communications and geographic barriers, deep forces enabled exchanges and mutual learning across cultures and even civilizations, offering beneficial insights for today’s multicultural, multi‑civilizational, harmonious coexistence and mutual exchange.
《空海传》的创作是一次中华优秀传统文化创造性转化、创新性发展的积极实践。本片的旁白为中国配音界泰斗徐涛，配乐由中国当代著名作曲家邹野创作、中国爱乐乐团演奏，合唱部分由中国歌剧院担纲。视效团队、制片团队、后期制作团队都是当代中国影视界的一流团队。主创人员坚持守正创新，反复研读纪录片脚本，查阅大量历史文献特别是空海本人著作，详细考证有关史实，遍访和细致拍摄空海历史遗迹，深入体悟清净居心、慈悲救世、忘我无私、悲悯众生、行愿无尽的空海精神，为纪录片创作打下坚实基础。同时，充分运用AI・CG等技术，还原空海形象，再现开放包容的大唐气象，赋予体现中华文化精华的空海精神以具有时代特色的传播载体和表达方式。创作团队坚持知行合一、用心创作的理念，以实际行动学习和践行空海精神，不计个人得失，忘我投入创作，感召海内外诸多善心人士、爱好中华文化和致力中外文化交流的有志之士共襄盛举，推动纪录片的拍摄、制作和宣传、推广成为空海精神的有力显化，成为传播中华文化、推动文明交流互鉴的自然过程。
The making of documentary Kūkai is an active practice of creatively transforming and innovatively developing China’s outstanding traditional culture. The film’s narrator is Xu Tao, a titan of Chinese dubbing; the score was composed by contemporary Chinese composer Zou Ye and performed by the China Philharmonic Orchestra, with choral parts sung by the China National Opera. The visual effects, production, and postproduction teams are first‑rate in today’s Chinese film industry. The creative team adhered to principled innovation, repeatedly studied the documentary script, consulted a large body of historical materials—especially Kūkai’s own writings—carefully verified historical facts, visited and meticulously filmed Kūkai’s historical sites, and deeply contemplated Kūkai’s spirit of pureheartedness, compassion for saving the world, selflessness, pity for sentient beings, and tireless vows—laying a solid foundation for the documentary. At the same time, the team made full use of AI and CG technologies to reconstruct Kūkai’s image and re-create the open, inclusive atmosphere of the Tang dynasty. They gave the spirit of Kūkai—embodying the essence of Chinese culture—a modern, era‑specific medium and expressive form. Upholding the integration of knowledge and practice and a heartfelt approach to creation, the team learned and acted on Kūkai’s spirit in practice, forgetting personal gain and loss and dedicating themselves to the project. Their sincerity inspired many benevolent people at home and abroad, lovers of Chinese culture, and advocates of Sino‑foreign cultural exchange to jointly support the film’s production, promotion, and dissemination, making the documentary an effective manifestation of Kūkai’s spirit and a natural vehicle for spreading Chinese culture and promoting civilizational exchange and mutual learning.
观众对《空海传》的制作水准和艺术成就给予高度评价，称赞它“非常精彩”，“像精神世界的迪士尼”，是一道“文化盛宴”，是一部“伟大的电影”。一位中年男观众表示：“（这部影片）的很多视觉特效，包括音乐，可能达到了一个很高的商业片的水准。” 一位非华语观众说：“这部电影极具深度，需要细细品味才能慢慢领会。”一位两次观影的年轻观众认为，观看这部影片不是为了看“装它的盒子”（形式），而是为了拿到“里面的宝珠”（精神）。
Audiences highly praised the Documentary Kūkai’s production quality and artistic achievement, calling it “terrific,” “like Disneyland for the spiritual world,” “a cultural feast,” and “a magnificent movie.” A middle‑aged male viewer said, “Many of the visual effects in this film, including the music, may have reached a very high commercial level.” A non‑Chinese‑speaking audience member said, “This movie is very deep; you need to savor it slowly to fully appreciate it.” A young viewer who watched the film twice said that seeing the film wasn’t about admiring “its box” (form), but about obtaining “the jewel inside” (spirit).
《空海传》所表达和传递的空海精神更令许多观众深受触动。一位独自赴美打拼的年轻观众激动地说：“我几乎是流着眼泪看完的，一直被空海法师弘法的愿力深深地感动着。”“（这部电影）带给我很多启发，是我的人生导师。”另一位观众说这部影片帮助自己找到了生命的意义：“不在于别的，而在于利他，这才是所有快乐的源泉。”一位学习新闻的年轻观众同样深切地感受到了“利他”精神，表示要在追求自己的人生价值之外，考虑“怎么去做利他的事情，怎么像弘法大师那样去做推进整个社会进步、不只是对自己有用、也对其他人有用的事”。 一位观众表示：“（这部影片）值得大家推广，因为空海法师的大善大爱，正是我们现代社会中最缺乏的。”
Kūkai spirit expressed and conveyed by the film moved many viewers even more. A young person who had come to the U.S. alone to work said emotionally, “I almost finished watching in tears. I was deeply moved by Master Kūkai’s vow to propagate the Dharma.” “This film has given me many inspirations; it is like a life mentor,” another audience member said. One viewer said the film helped them find life’s meaning: “It’s not about anything else, it’s about altruism; that is the source of all happiness.” A young journalism student similarly felt the spirit of altruism and said they would, beyond pursuing their own life goals, consider how to do altruistic things, how to follow Master Kūkai’s example to promote societal progress, doing things that are useful not only to oneself but to others as well. One audience member said, “This film deserves broad promotion, because Master Kūkai’s great kindness and love are exactly what our modern society lacks most.”
《空海传》曾获包括伦敦独立电影奖“最佳纪录片”在内的8项国际奖项，并入围西班牙赫罗纳电影节等28个国际电影单元。专业电影奖项的获得和观众的肯定与好评，充分体现了《空海传》的艺术水平和国际传播力、文化影响力，展现了空海精神跨越国界、跨越文化、超越时空的永恒魅力与时代价值。在这个动荡变革的时代，在国家之间、文明之间猜疑加深、对立加剧、竞争日益激烈的时代，《空海传》为增强中华文化国际传播力、推动文明交流互鉴、促进各国人民心灵相通提供了创新性的思路与解决方案，也为安抚躁动的人心，引导人们思考人生意义、开发自性宝藏提供了智慧启迪。
Documentary Kūkai has won eight international awards, including London Independent Film Awards’ “Best Documentary,” and was selected for 28 international festival programs such as the Girona Film Festival in Spain. The professional awards and audience recognition fully reflect Kūkai’s artistic standards as well as its international communicative power and cultural influence, demonstrating the timeless charm and contemporary value of Kūkai’s spirit across national borders and cultures. In this turbulent era, when suspicion and confrontation between nations and civilizations are intensifying and competition is fierce, Kūkai offers innovative ideas and solutions to strengthen China’s cultural international outreach, promote civilizational exchange and mutual learning, and help people find spiritual solace and reflect on life’s meaning and the treasure within.
据悉，主创团队已经在英国、日本、澳大利亚、新西兰和美东地区等多地进行了超过30场点映。主创团队表示，选择在海外多地持续点映，与《空海传》的文化定位密切相关。导演悦野在专访中进一步强调，弘法大师空海所展现的清净居心、慈悲救世、无我利他、愿行无尽的精神源于大唐文化，是中华优秀传统文化海外传播的典范。这种精神在当代社会极为稀缺，具有现实价值，这也是团队尝试在不同国家展映影片的重要原因之一。
According to reports, the creative team has already held more than 30 preview screenings in the U.K., Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. East Coast. The team said choosing sustained preview screenings overseas is closely related to documentary Kūkai’s cultural positioning. In interviews, director Yue Ye emphasized that Master Kūkai’s pureheartedness, compassion for saving the world, selfless altruism, and tireless vows stem from Tang‑dynasty culture and are an exemplary model for the overseas transmission of China’s outstanding traditional culture. This spirit is extremely rare in contemporary society and has real practical value—one of the key reasons the team sought to screen the film in different countries.
据主创团队透露，影片将于今年8月在美国洛杉矶和旧金山举办首映礼，后续或将上线流媒体平台。悦野表示，影片旨在链接世界各地寻找真理、探索生命意义的人们，致力于推动空海精神的传播与践行，促进东西方文明交流互鉴。“当大家内心有不安、烦恼，或觉得心灵无处安放时，希望《空海传》可以为大家带来力量和答案。”
The creative team revealed that the film will hold premieres in Los Angeles and San Francisco in August this year, and may later be released on streaming platforms. Yue Ye stated that the film aims to connect people worldwide who seek truth and explore the meaning of life, promote the spread and practice of Kūkai’s spirit, and foster exchange and mutual learning between Eastern and Western cultures. “When people feel uneasy, troubled, or spiritually adrift, we hope documentary Kūkai will provide them with strength and answers.”