Similar to Santino
Merton: A Film Biography (1984)
In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.
A Fire in the Forest: The Life and Legacy of the Ba'al Shem Tov (2012)
Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698-1760), known as the Ba'al Shem Tov ("Master of the Good Name"), is one of the most beloved and celebrated, yet elusive, figures in Jewish history. Today, Jews worldwide – and even non-Jews – revere him as the founder of the Hasidic movement, a 18th-century offshoot of Judaism that promotes a mystical interpretation of the Bible, and as a model of piety and spirituality. The documentary A FIRE IN THE FOREST explores the life and legacy of the Ba'al Shem Tov through interviews with religious leaders and scholars, and on-location footage. The title derives from a tale about rabbis finding a hidden fire in the forest where they could appeal to God for help and have their prayers answered.
Nazis: The Occult Conspiracy (1998)
This documentary examines how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime made use of ancient mysticism, occultism, and mind-control techniques in their efforts to win the war.
Wild Magic (2025)
A kaleidoscopic road trip through modern mystical Americana, revealing the hidden magic that’s happening all around us. A living tribute to the glimmering pockets of light beneath the crumbling facade of the American Dream, inviting viewers to slow down and engage with the unseen.
Phenomenon (1977)
A portrait of Baba Vanga, born Vangeliya Pandeva Dimitrova, a blind Bulgarian prophet, mystic, clairvoyant, and herbalist. Millions of people believed she possessed paranormal abilities.The first part of the documentary portrait of the prophet Baba Vanga not only as a mysterious supernatural figure, but as a living and immediate person. The second part follows the discussion between prominent Bulgarian scientists and intellectuals who, with few exceptions, completely reject Vanga's abilities and advise the film to be reworked with a view to a materialistic understanding of man. The two parts contrast Vanga, the crowds of visitors to her home and the stiffened way of thinking of the representatives of science in Bulgaria in those years. Forbidden to the general public after its first screening.
The Sacred Art of Tibet (1972)
An accurate depiction of the basic tenets of northern Mahayana Buddhism, cast into living or "experiential" form, consistent with powerful mantras heard on the soundtrack of the film. Tarthang Tulku, a Tibetan Lama, was the advisor.
Awake: The Life of Yogananda (2014)
An unconventional biography by Oscar nominee Paola di Florio and Sundance winner Lisa Leeman about Hindu mystic Paramahansa Yogananda who brought yoga and meditation to the West in 1920 and authored the spiritual classic "Autobiography of a Yogi," which became the go-to book for seekers from George Harrison to Steve Jobs.
To Be a Bruja (2023)
Amanda Montejo is a trans woman, make up artist, Guadalupana and a witch. This documentary portrait explores different facets of her spirituality and fragments of her past, revealing the duality of her being.
DIVINE MYSTICS: ANOTHER SIDE OF ISLAM
A documentary on sufism
The Hermetic Jung (2016)
Acclaimed author Gary Lachman looks at renowned psychoanalyst C.G. Jung's work from an esoteric viewpoint, drawing parallells to the disciplines of mysticism and occultism.
Rumi: Poet of the Heart (1998)
In 1244, Jelaluddin Rumi, a Sufi scholar in Konya, Turkey, met an itinerant dervish, Shams of Tabriz. A powerful friendship ensued. When Shams died, the grieving Rumi gripped a pole in his garden, and turning round it, began reciting imagistic poetry about inner life and love of God. After Rumi's death, his son founded the Mevlevi Sufi order, the whirling dervishes. Lovers of Rumi's poems comment on their power and meaning, including religious historian Huston Smith, writer Simone Fattal, poet Robery Bly, and Coleman Barks, who reworks literal translations of Rumi into poetic English. Musicians accompany Barks and Bly as they recite their versions of several of Rumi's ecstatic poems.
Mystic Journey to India (2018)
Craig Hamilton-Parker stumbles upon a 5,000 year old Indian oracle that has his name written on it. When translated, it reveals the story of his life with 100% accuracy. The oracle proclaims what will happen in the future - even giving the exact time he will die.
Sanctuary (2024)
Sanctuary explores queer spirituality and utopian sexualities through the figure of Purusha Androgyne Larkin (1934–1988), a monk, pioneering gay filmmaker, and self-proclaimed cosmic-erotic mystic. Larkin’s 1981 book, 'The Divine Androgyne According to Purusha', challenged repression with a spiritual vision rooted in eroticism and presented a radical path to cosmic-erotic consciousness through ‘extreme’ forms of sexual pleasure. Sanctuary explores Larkin's attempt to form a utopian, pleasure-based spiritual community, and considers the complex legacies of his ideas in queer culture. Shot on 16mm, the film weaves together the voices of Larkin’s friends and followers, creating a portrait in absentia of a figure ahead of his time.
A Portrait of William Blake (2025)
A short documentary about the life work and philosophy of William Blake featuring an interview with John Higgs.
Living from the Heart: Universalist Sufism In America (2018)
Living from the Heart: Universalist Sufism in America, directed by Chuck Davis and Netanel Miles-Yépez, offers an introduction to the mystical path of Sufism as expressed in the universalist Sufi teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan by contemporary Sufi teachers in America. The film contextualizes Sufism as a spiritual path of the heart, addressing the distinction between Islamic Sufism and Universalist Sufism, and introduces viewers to Sufi teachings on Love, Beauty, Music, God, and the Sufi practices of Zikr (remembrance) and Pilgrimage.
The Search for the Meaning (2019)
"The Search for the Meaning" is a collective experience, carried out with the audiovisual contribution of countless people who record their testimonies and spiritual experiences in 19 countries, to show a new spirituality that is being born...
Someday the night will come (2025)
In a small, unassuming town in the heart of the Yucatán Peninsula, Virginio carries an invisible burden. The whispers of Xtabay, a Mayan mythical figure who seduces and portends doom, echo through his days, intertwined with the legacy of his father and his ancestors lost to alcoholism and despair. Surrounded by death, Virginio searches for a way to live with dignity and peace, before Xtabay's voice claims him as well.
