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Super Meditate Me
TYPE: Documentary Feature
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: Production
LOGLINE
Can meditation change the world? A skeptic sets out to test the ancient idea that the practice can lead to a radical transformation of consciousness.
SYNOPSIS
According to tradition, meditation can trigger a mysterious force in the human body thought to allow access to higher states of consciousness. According to science, no such force exists. I wanted to separate fact from fiction: What would happen if an ordinary person lived like a monk for 100 days?
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
The first step in the scientific method is the observation of an unexplained pattern in nature, and finding the pattern of kundalini---a mysterious energy seeming to erupt from the spine, resulting in higher consciousness---is what inspired me to begin working on Super Meditate Me.
Two lines of questioning interest us as filmmakers: The global and the individual. On the global level, what if we really could expand our awareness---our very sense of self---through the secular practice of meditation? What would be the value of that discovery to the world? Could mankind one day evolve into an enlightened species? What can science tell us about this process? On the individual level, we examine the effect that a kundalini awakening has on one’s relationships. Can they proceed as usual, or does such a radical experience necessitate radical lifestyle changes? Are there cultural stigmas surrounding “spiritual experience”?
Through conversations with scientists, skeptics, and ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary states of consciousness, we hope to illuminate these questions, inspiring audiences to explore uncharted territory within themselves and offering up an optimistic view of the future in which the final frontier is within us.
KEY CREW
Duncan Carroll - Director
Duncan's interest in meditation began when he had an out-of-body experience at age 18. Since then he's been determined to apply the scientific method to the investigation of spiritual phenomena. In 2015 he paired up with Only Human Films to begin work on Super Meditate Me.
Josh Izenberg - Cinematographer
Josh Izenberg is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and producer, whose debut documentary, SLOMO (2013) premiered as a New York Times Op-Doc, won over a dozen awards, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. He’s since co-directed the Netflix documentary, Resurface, which was nominated for an Emmy. Other films he’s worked on have be featured by The New Yorker, The Atlantic, WIRED, National Geographic, and Scientific American.
Melissa Neidich - Editor
Melissa Neidich is an award-winning documentary editor, working in the field for twenty years. Particularly drawn to documentaries that experiment with form and style, her past films include: Soul in the Hole, which won an Independent Spirit Award; Dark Days, which also won an Independent Spirit Award and a Sundance Audience Award; Two Towns of Jasper, which won a Dupont Award; Out of the Clear Blue Sky, and The Rest I Make Up, which premiered in 2018 to rave reviews.
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