ILLUMINATE 2015 Lineup

Conscious Film Convergence • Healing Village

Tickets Now On Sale! • Festival Grid

Download the printable 2015 Program Guide  (6 MB PDF)




Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet
Southwest Premiere

From producer Salma Hayek-Pinault comes this stunning visual adaptation of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, one of the most popular volumes of poetry ever written and cherished guide to life, death, love and art. Chock full of wisdom, Gibran’s timeless verses have been given enchanting new form in this painterly cinematic adventure about freedom and the power of human expression. This groundbreaking use of animation for divine storytelling will excite both adults and children alike. Written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), the film stars Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek-Pinault, John Krasinski, Frank Langella, Alfred Molina, John Rhys-Davies and Quvenzhané Wallis.





iGod
Festival World Premiere

Can the nature of God ever truly be understood or explained? iGOD traces how the various concepts of God have evolved and explores the questions that our greatest thinkers, spiritual leaders and philosophers have asked for thousands of years. Perhaps through this exploration we can finally begin to understand who we really are and why we are here. Featuring luminaries Neale Donald Walsch, Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Gregg Braden, Alan Cohen and Barbara Marx Hubbard.


A live Skype workshop with Marianne Williamson, Barbara Marx Hubbard and Alan Cohen will follow.




Bonobo
Arizona Premiere

A straightlaced, middle-aged widow attempts to remove her daughter from a Bohrmian sex commune, but ends up understanding that each of us has a unique path to follow on the road to spiritual evolution and self-acceptance. 





A BRAVE HEART: The Lizzie Velasquez Story
Arizona Premiere

Bullying stories are known for having victims, not heroes. A Brave Heart tells the inspiring journey of 26-year-old, 58-pound Lizzie from cyber-bullying victim to anti-bullying activist. Born with a rare syndrome that prevents her from gaining weight and called "the world's ugliest woman," Lizzie’s story is all about the transformative power of looking inward for validation, self-love and the power of family to instill it. This powerful film recently had its world premiere at South by Southwest.


A Q&A with director Sara Hirsh Bordo will follow.




When I Was Young I Said I Would be Happy
Arizona Premiere

This film chronicles the transformation of 12 orphan genocide survivors in Rwanda after participating in a new form of sustainable humanitarian aid called Project LIGHT. These young ambassadors learn to be skilled practitioners of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT/Tapping) in order to heal themselves of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and teach others to do the same. In two short years, they pay forward their healing to hundreds, from Rwanda to Connecticut.


A Q&A with producer Barnet Bain will follow.




Love Thy Nature
Arizona Premiere

Narrated by Liam Neeson, Love Thy Nature is a cinematic immersion into the beauty and intimacy of our relationship with the natural world. Neeson is the voice of Homo Sapiens—our collective humankind—who, in the past few thousand years, has come to believe that we are separate from nature. But doctors are unveiling new findings on the role of nature to sustain and heal the human body-mind. Experts have discovered that just spending time in nature promotes healing, emotional stability, connectedness and even neurological health in children. Through Sapiens’ journey, the film reveals how a relationship with nature ignites a sense of meaning and wonder so profound that it touches us at the very core of what it means to be human.


A Q&A with director Sylvie Rokab will follow.

Preceded by:  
Chaos | Belgium | 2015 | 15 Minutes • Narrative Short