PRESS RELEASE

ILLUMINATE Offers Best of Conscious Cinema at Fourth Annual Event

26 Conscious Films and a Special Focus on Spiritual Masters and Music Headline the Burgeoning Red Rock Event

Sedona, Arizona – May 18, 2017 – ILLUMINATE Film Festival, the premier conscious film festival and the only gathering of its kind in the US, presents a stellar line up of film premieres, panels, parties and events for its 4th annual showcase May 31- June 4 in Sedona, Arizona.

ILLUMINATE will screen more than 26 feature-length and short films across four venues— as well as host signature panels and stimulating workshops—featuring more than 75 filmmakers, guest speakers, and industry representatives from around the globe. This year's installment is expected to attract an audience from 11 countries and 28 US states to the small, northern Arizona town known for its mesas and high-vibration, vortex energy.

Highlights of the Festival include:

ILLUMINATE begins Wednesday, May 31 with a Launch Party and Free Outdoor Screening of The Rebound, a rousing film about overcoming great adversity that follows the underdog journey of a wheelchair basketball team in their quest for a national title.

Opening Night Film on June 1 is HEAL, a world premiere by director Kelly Noonan followed by an on-stage Q&A with Dr. Joe Dispenza and Dr. Jeffrey Thompson. HEAL follows three people on actual high-stakes healing journeys to find out what works and why.

The Festival's Spotlight Screening June 2 will feature the world premiere of MANTRA— Sounds into Silence, followed by a soulful music performance by renowned kirtan artist C.C. White Soul Kirtan. This documentary shares the stories of people who find inner peace and healing through the practice kirtan, call-and-response devotional singing made popular in the West by singers like Deva Premal, Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, and Snatam Kaur.

Saturday, June 3 is the Conscious Visionary Tribute to Barbara Marx Hubbard and the world premiere screening of American Visionary: The Story of Barbara Marx Hubbard. Known as the mother of conscious evolution, Hubbard believes humanity is on the brink of radical advancement. Authors Jack Canfield, Neale Donald Walsch and more than forty fellow visionaries join Hubbard in the film to examine what a positive future might look like and how we could get there.

On Sunday, June 4, ILLUMINATE screens RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World, followed by a performance by Grammy Award winning rock, blues and country singer and guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart. The story of sound and soul that refuses to be put down, RUMBLE finds the missing chapter in the history of American music, the indigenous influence, and tracks it in one of the last places it could be heard: rock and roll.

Director, time-lapse pioneer and TED Talk sensation Louie Schwartzberg is the keynote speaker for the Conscious Film Convergence, a two-day program of educational panels and conversations for film industry professionals and aspirants. Schwartzberg creates art that evokes "wonder, awe and gratitude." His recent works include the 3D IMAX film Mysteries of the Unseen World, narrated by Forest Whitaker; documentary Wings of Life, narrated by Meryl Streep; and a series of shorts called "Gratitude Revealed" launched on oprah.com.

New to the Festival This Year

ILLUMINATE's new programs and offerings include:

• The Luminary Living Room Series, an offering of intimate workshops with recognized mind-body teachers, including neuroscience and human potential expert Dr. Joe Dispenza, futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard and filmmaker, author, musician and peace troubadour James Twyman
• Pre-Fest Quests, unique guided on-the-land experiences designed to connect movie-goers directly with Sedona's red rock magic
• A nine-hour ILLUMINATE Filmmaker Lab to develop new conscious film projects, taught by the makers of Awake: The Life of Yogananda
• Two special focus sections - one on spiritual movements/leaders and another on music, which includes films featuring mind-body-spirit visionaries Thich Nhat Hanh, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra and Anita Moorjani, as well as film favorites Benedict Cumberbatch, David Lynch and Martin Scorsese
• A downloadable festival app that enables attendees to see the full festival schedule and get updates and reminders on their smart phones

Back by popular demand, ILLUIMINATE will offer eight "Reel Healing" immersions, a Virtual Reality showcase and a Healing Lounge with a diverse selection of health and wellness practitioners.

Nine World Premieres

Nine documentary films are slated to make their world debuts at the 2017 Illuminate Film Festival. "It's a testament to the universal quest for connection, and why we created the festival as a home and launching platform for conscious films," said ILLUMINATE Executive Director Danette Wolpert. "We're honored that a growing number of films choose to show here before anywhere else and connect with our audience."

World premieres have more than doubled since the festival's inaugural installment in 2014. Attendance is also on the rise, having increased 45% every year since inception, with this year's attendance expected to be over 7000.

Part of a world-class film line-up, the nine world premiers join a festival gaining increasing recognition not only for the quality and intent of its films, but also as a "destination festival" and conscious experience in itself. ILLUMINATE was recently selected by The Huffington Post as a "top festival to revitalize the soul."

According to Wolpert, ILLUMINATE brings together the planet's most talented conscious filmmakers, producers and thought leaders to celebrate life-affirming stories and inspire the people who attend. "It's really about the expansion of humanity," she says.

In addition to those mentioned above, world premieres include Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and Swami Who Started It, SuperSapiens, Global Spirit: Earth Wisdom for a World in Crisis, Magic Pills, The Man Who Built Peace and "Yoga In Sedona". The full lineup of films, panels, programs and parties can be found at www.illuminatefilmfestival.com.

Individual tickets ($12-$30) can be purchased at www.illuminatefilmfestival.com. VIP All-Access passes ($444) offer unlimited access to all events, including opening and closing night gala presentations, spotlight screenings, Reel Healing "View & Do" screenings, VIP parties and receptions, and Conscious Film Convergence panels and conversations, and provide priority ticketing access into theaters. Conscious Film Convergence passes are $289.

Major sponsors include: Natural Action Technologies, Chocolatree Organic Oasis , Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau, The Collective Sedona, Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village, Dahl Restaurant Group, Sedona Real Inn & Suites and The Lodge at Sedona, Science of Mind Magazine, Collective Evolution and Conscious Life News

ILLUMINATE takes place yearly in Sedona, Arizona at the Sedona Performing Arts Center, the Mary D. Fisher Theater and The Collective Sedona.

Contact: Morgan Richmond (928) 421-1108