A wesak international film festival was held from the 28 to 29 June 2008 at the Wawasan Open University in conjunction with the 2008 wesak day celebration. The biennial festival was jointly organized by Buddhist organizations in Penang and co-sponsored by Yayasan Belia Buddhist Malaysia, YBAM Penang state liaison committee and Than Hsiang temple.

Ā wide selection of films, suitable for audiences of all ages, ranged from documentary to animation; depicting biographies of eminent monks and Buddhist fables of the three major Buddhist traditions.
In his opening speech, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon who declared open the festival assured that Wawasan University would continue to give its support for the film festival. The film media served as a viable media for the propagation of love and compassion expounded in religious teachings, he added.

Ven. Wei Wu, the abbot of Than Hsiang temple, suggested that local televisions should consider broadcasting some religious film to reflect the multi-cultures and multi-religious aspect of Malaysian multi-racial milieu.