DIVINE MYSTICS: ANOTHER SIDE OF ISLAM(NaN)

A Native Street in India(en)

Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city.

Kumbh Mela: Songs of the River(en)

The Kumbh Mela is a great roving Hindu spiritual festival that has moved around India for more than four thousand years, erecting temporary cities along the Ganges River.

India: Spreading Hate(fr)

Since the rise to power of Hindu nationalists in 2014, India has been gradually moving away from democracy towards a regime where ethnic identity prevails. This transition is driven by Hindutva, a Hindu supremacist ideology embodied by Narendra Modi. For the past 10 years, Prime Minister Modi has relentlessly pursued his fascist policy based on Hindu supremacy. This ideology of hatred towards other religions in the country, particularly Islam, has also spread globally. Those who follow this belief want India to be only for Hindus, treating people of other religions, like Muslims or Sikhs as second-class citizens. Attacks against Christians have surged by 400% since Modi's election, accompanied by discriminatory laws targeting Muslims and widespread lynching incidents. Hindutva's influence permeates all levels of Indian society. This documentary thus unveils a darker side of India, far from its portrayal as the world's largest democracy and Gandhi's dream of peace among communities.

Lighthouse(en)

After the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, widowed women struggled to receive aid due to their social status. Following the story of Mrs. Manjula along with many other women from Tamil Nadu, the challenges faced by millions of widows across the country are illuminated. From being ostracized to denied basic rights and economic opportunities, widows in India endure a cycle of discrimination and marginalization. “Kalangarai” meaning "lighthouse" in Tamil, is an organization dedicated to empowering women through initiatives such as self-help groups and educational programs. Throughout the film, "Lighthouse" illustrates the emotional journeys and resilience of these women, as well as the active change that Kalangarai strives to achieve. This documentary urges global awareness and support for widowed women’s rights, as the women’s struggles depict the intersectionality of gender, poverty, and social injustice.

Nazis: The Occult Conspiracy(en)

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.

The Art of Meditation(en)

This VHS video includes two short documentaries by Elda Hartley. In the first, THE ART OF MEDITATION, Alan Watts gives us techniques and advice for meditating. Elda Hartley herself narrates the second film, MEDITATION: THE JOURNEY INWARD, which exposes viewers to different cultural approaches to meditation. Hartley then discusses how meditation enriches one's life, and what it can reveal to us.

Gwalia in Khasia(en)

The story of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists' Mission (1841-1969) to the Khasi Hills in north-east India, written and presented by Welsh poet Nigel Jenkins.

Flight Number 884(de)

Flight Number 884 is a film about the wishes and desires of Muslim immigrants. Every year thousands of bodies of Turkish immigrants are flown back from Europe to small villages - villages they had left long ago. The film follows the dead body of a Muslim on its last journey from Vienna to a graveyard in Turkey.

The Hermetic Jung(en)

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.

Mostashregh(fa)

This Exists - A Film about Sri Prem Baba(pt)

The story of Sri Prem Baba, spiritual master and humanitarian leader with followers around the world, begins when a 14-year-old from Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a vision that said: 'go to Rishikeshi, India'. This story is delightfully told by himself leading us through the odyssey that would turn an ordinary boy into Prem Baba. Memories of friends, admirers and followers take us along the paths of the prosperous therapist who sank into a deep existential crisis and finally found India, where he would devote himself, after much debate, to his master and his destiny. A rich journey of enlightenment that brings us precious reflections on the meaning of life and the role of each one on this planet.

Buzz(en)

The anti-Slumdog Millionaire in documentary form, "Buzz" charts the tumultuous rise of India's most famous tattoo artist as he struggles to overcome the demons of his poverty-stricken childhood through art.

Phenomenon(bg)

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 Circles of Remembrance(en)

The Circles of Remembrance is an 82 minute journey into what is usually a hidden world of Sufism. This documentary explores "zikr" ceremonies in Cairo, Istanbul, Morocco, and the U.S., along with interviews with some of the most prominent Sufi scholars and musicians, on the outer and secret meaning of the remembrance of God. Martin Lings, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Gai Eaton, Sheikh Ali Gomma, T.J. Winter,and Tosun Bayrak are among those interviewed.

Waiting for Abou Zayd(ar)

"Nasr Hamed Abou Zayd is not Godot, and the expectation promised by the title is misleading: this great gentleman is present in almost every shot. Who is he? An Egyptian Muslim theologian of international reputation, he has published exegeses of the Koran which led to his being condemned for apostasy. Exile, forced divorce from his wife Ibtihal Younes since his marriage was subject to annulment, separation from his son, such are the consequences of his writings. But Abou Zayd has not given up, residing in Leiden in the Netherlands, he continues, always on the road, to give conferences, to explain with great serenity his positions in public debates, on television, etc. C It is this particularly impressive dedication that Mohammad Ali Atassi's camera recorded over a period of six years.

Ganges(en)

A journey that follows the Ganges from its source deep within the Himalayas through to the fertile Bengal delta, exploring the natural and spiritual worlds of this sacred river.

Marching in the Dark(mr)

In a drought-struck region in India, suffering from climate change and a high suicide rate amongst farmers, a group of resilient women farmers, who recently lost their husbands, is coming together with a local psychologist to learn counselling and help others in grief.

Secrets of the King Cobra(en)

A new scientific expedition follows the King Cobra into the wild for the first time.

The Last Maneater: Killer Tigers of India(en)

Sunderbans (Forest of Beauty) is in West Bengal, India, and is the only place on Earth that is the natural habitat of Royal Bengal Tigers that have never known to be fearful of humans. One tiger has been known to kill three fully grown men, leaving behind orphans and widows who belong to poor tribes, dependent on harvesting wild honey and fishing, in a swampy mangrove region. About 80 people are killed annually by these ferocious beasts with razor-sharp jaws, whose forepaws can shatter bones, and sharp teeth can pierce a skull in one bite. Amidst religious superstitions, the narrator attempts to explain the cause behind their taste for human meat in a region devoid of electricity, roadways, firearms and safe drinking water, and why the villagers continue to live there despite of being stalked and mauled on land and water alike.

Rumi: The Wings of Love(en)

Creened in several international film festivals, as well as the Musée de L’Homme in Paris, this film takes viewers into a secret world rarely seen by outsiders. Nearly eight centuries after his death, Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, Sufi master and mystical poet, is ever-present in the whirling ceremony of today’s Mevlevi dervishes. The Halveti zikr, Mevlevi semas, and the Gharib, or secret, sema-not seen for over 100 years-were filmed in Cairo, Istanbul, and the Garden of Rumi in Konya. This unique footage set to Mevlevi music is enhanced by interviews with Sheikh Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din (Martin Lings), Islamic philosopher and author Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Sheikh Omer Tugrel Inancer, who reveals the hidden meaning of the reed flute.