Sacred explores cultural and religious ritual as it relates to life’s cycles: birth, adolescence, marriage, aging and other key passages of life.
Social & External
From Belgium, Jialai Wang maintains contact via smartphone and camera with her mother and grandmother in China. When her grandmother’s health deteriorates, Jialai returns to Shanghai, but when she arrives, her grandmother has already died, and she is left alone with her mother. A devout Buddhist, her mother seems to pay more attention to her daily prayers, Maoist past and dog Dongdong than she does to her daughter. She herself had been abandoned as a child by her own mother, when she divorced Jialai’s grandfather and moved to the city.
The movie Okht al-Reza (Reza's sister) narrates the journey of the Lady of Dignity, Hazrat Masoumeh PBUH from Madinah to Qom. While portraying the events of the Prophet's path, her time, Ma'mun's conspiracies and efforts for her martyrdom, the work tries to express a mystical narrative of the character of Hazrat Masoumeh. It deals with the story of this journey, and includes passages about the political and social atmosphere of the time, where the general atmosphere of the storytelling is somewhat close to the documentary.
A series of interviews are conducted concerning people's beliefs towards the possibility of an afterlife. The interviews are filmed against a set of strange backdrops, and are intercut with clips from classic films and a variety of stock footage.
This is a film about the power of the Rosary, a Catholic Prayer. The film depicts personal stories about how the rosary has affected their lives.
Hosted by D. James Kennedy, PH.D. and Dean Jones. Enriched with scenes from the dramatic mini-series A.D., this fast pace documentary provides exciting explanations to some of the most important questions ever asked regarding the most controversial man who ever lived -- Jesus Christ.
The Quays' interest in esoteric illusions finds its perfect realization in this fascinating animated lecture on the art of anamorphosis. This artistic technique, often used in the 16th- and 17th centuries, utilizes a method of visual distortion with which paintings, when viewed from different angles, mischievously revealed hidden symbols.
In this documentary, "Zappy" Zapolin interviews spiritual gurus, celebrities, and people of various faiths about the relationship between spirituality, religion, and psychedelics—in their beliefs and in their experiences.
The story of Nisar Ahmed Khan, told through his children and the people he served, a spiritual guide whose followers still visit his tomb on his birth and death anniversaries. And alongside how his family spends a few days at the village keeping his traditions alive.
A cinematic journey through the world. Non-verbal.
Imagine Dragons’ Mormon frontman Dan Reynolds is taking on a new mission to explore how the church treats its LGBTQ members. With the rising suicide rate amongst teens in the state of Utah, his concern with the church’s policies sends him on an unexpected path for acceptance and change.
Discover the story behind the man who sparked the Protestant Reformation. Told through a seamless combination of live-action storytelling and artistic animation, Martin Luther's daring life is presented in extensive detail while still making the film relevant, provocative, and accessible.
Inner peace and self-fulfillment are possible for each of us. Two modern day monks set off on an international journey to film a diverse range of people making the choice for a better life through meditation. Stunning cinematography combined with the power of people sharing from a place of profound peace delivers a palpable and moving experience. Available to rent or buy in 11 languages - English, Spanish, Portugese, Norwegian, Mandarin, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Dutch, and Swedish. https://vimeo.com
Originally produced in 1997 on the threshold of the Third Millennium of the Christian Era, and in celebration of the Jubilee of the Year of Our Lord 2000, The Vatican Museums was the culmination of three years of research and filming, the collaboration of thirty-two scholars and historians from around the world, a crew of forty directors of photography, operators, and lighting technicians, state-of-the-art digital cinematography, lighting, animation, and computerized editing, and the work of a famous composer with original performances by master musicians. Now available on DVD for the first time, this historic three-disc collection features seven hours of magnificent documentary film that illuminates and chronicles the great journey of the human spirit. Here then is the world's most spectacular and sacred repository of art, history, and faith.
An intimate portrait of a family coming to terms with decades of institutional abuse and the impact it has had and is still having on their lives.
Documentary examining the medieval myth of the Philosopher's Stone, a Holy Grail-type relic which supposedly held the key to alchemy and immortality. Many noted alchemists and adventurers searched obsessively for the artifact hoping to learn its powerful secrets, a quest which allegedly drove some to madness and others to celestial encounters.
Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, reputed to be the source of the most esoteric knowledge in human history-has fascinated scholars, seekers and dreamers for centuries. For generations, scholars and researchers have tried in vain to discover the fabled Temple of Solomon, only to be confronted by one problem after another. Gnosis weaves a tale that is both profound and precise.
A meditative observation of the poetry present in the world of Pedrito, an elderly man of the mountains and relic of a time that no longer exists, while he comes to an understanding of his physical mortality and becomes aware of his spiritual immortality.
By drawing a parallel between the Indian Durga Puja festival and other forms of celebrating the divine feminine, Santa Shakti reveals the Sacred Power beyond languages and religions.
In 2012, Stephen Vaughan and Kay Ferreter are invited to address the congregation at St. Joseph's Redemptorists Church in Dundalk, Ireland for the Solemn Novena Festival. In a powerful speech, the pair describe their experiences being gay and lesbian in Ireland, feeling excluded by Catholic doctrine, and the importance of a more inclusive church.
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
THE SPIRIT MOLECULE weaves an account of Dr. Rick Strassman's groundbreaking DMT research through a multifaceted approach to this intriguing hallucinogen found in the human brain and hundreds of plants, including the sacred Amazonian brew, ayahuasca. Utilizing interviews with a variety of experts to explain their thoughts and experiences with DMT, and ayahuasca, within their respective fields, and discussions with Strassman’s research volunteers, brings to life the awesome effects of this compound, and introduces us to far-reaching theories regarding its role in human consciousness.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
A sexual wellness company gains fame and followers, then members come forward with shocking allegations.
Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Walk With Me is a cinematic journey into the world of a monastic community who practice the art of mindfulness with Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh.
A documentary special that explores the power of identity behind the iconic superheroes we know and love today. These legendary Marvel creations and stories have not only reflected the world outside our window – they have become a reflection of our own identities and who we truly are.
Serial killer Dennis Nilsen narrates his life and horrific crimes via a series of chilling audiotapes recorded from his jail cell.
A documentary focused on plastic pollution in the world's oceans.
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
With stunning views of eruptions and lava flows, Werner Herzog captures the raw power of volcanoes and their ties to indigenous spiritual practices.
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
