Angels and Saints: Eros and Awe
Lifedream Films
Addressing the topics of gender identity and sexuality, this award-winning video examines psychological, emotional, and spiritual wholeness, namely, the sacred and sensual connection of our bodies and the natural world that western religion has historically demonized and maligned. It is a film about people whom we call our “Angels and Saints” or our “modern messengers”, who have found a path to being their whole selves in body, mind, and spirit.
The video addresses the psychic pain and damage that institutional religions and American culture in general have inflicted by teaching that “the Spirit is good” but “the body is evil.” Whether identifying as heterosexual, non-binary, gay, lesbian, or other, our modern messengers share with us their creative, grounded lives, their wisdom, and their many ways of healing this brokenness, as well as how they have moved beyond the constraining, stereotypic “boxes” in which society has placed most people. A recurring theme in this process of integration and wholeness is the role of the arts, including dance, music, poetry, and a love of nature – all of which find a richly expressive place in the film.
The film has been selected for and won awards at numerous film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival, Vancouver Independent Film Festival, Impact DOCS Awards, and LGBTQ Unbordered International Film Festival.