Film as a Modality for Peace
An Interview with Danette Wolpert, Executive Director,
ILLUMINATE Film Festival
T
he Sedona International
City of Peace believes that
film is an excellent vehicle
for advancing our three key objectives: expanding awareness, deepening connections and engaging
community. As part of this effort,
we are grateful for our ongoing collaboration with the Sedona International Film Festival and Illuminate
Film Festival, now in its second
season here.
What is the mission of the
ILLUMINATE Film Festival?
ILLUMINATE’s mission is to expand
consciousness through film. As the
world’s premier film festival for
conscious cinema, ILLUMINATE
showcases cinematic gems that uplift the human heart and inspire all
who see them to live kinder, wiser,
more enlightened lives.
What exactly is “Conscious Cinema”? Conscious Cinema is lifeaffirming cinematic works that
encourage audiences to ponder
existence more deeply than their
daily routines — e.g. films about
yoga, meditation, spiritual practice,
body-mind science, sustainable
living and most importantly, the
human journey.
How is ILLUMINATE a vehicle
for global world peace? Our team
believes world peace begins with
inner peace. Our selections create
opportunities for cultivating self-
awareness, stillness and a feeling
of oneness. My teammate Miguel
Montoya put it best when he said:
“ILLUMINATE believes in
sharing messages of hope, inspiration, and beauty, inclusive of all
philosophies, without suggesting
any one path as the answer. All
such artistic renderings of defining
human moments serve one purpose:
to remind us all, whomever we are
and wherever we sit, of the beauty
of the human soul. Only by this recognition, are we driven to change
self-serving behaviors — not by
threats, guilt trips, or slick persuasion, but by the personal realization
of the beauty within each one of us;
a connection to something greater;
a purpose in life far more satisfying
than chasing money, power, lust, or
fame.”
What inspired you to launch ILLUMINATE? At 35, sparked by Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love, I took
off on a yearlong round-the-world
journey to connect with my soul’s
purpose. Though I wanted to be a
healer, I realized one afternoon that
my calling was not to do the healing,
but rather to organize it.
Is it true you aim for ILLUMINATE to become the “Sundance” of
Conscious Cinema? Yes, but not for
the reasons you’d think, not for the
prestige or the red carpets. Sundance is a launching platform for
mainstream independent cinema
and largely influenc