The Unruly Mystic: Saint Hildegard

Mystical Brain

January 2006 •English

Documentary / Other - Is it possible to shed light on the states of grace experienced by mystics and meditators? Mystical Brain shows us the most recent discoveries of scientific research on this phenomenon in North America and abroad. It seems that mystical ecstasy is a profoundly transformative experience. It could contribute to people's psychic and bodily health, treat depression and speed up the healing process in patients who combine meditation with conventional medicine.

Nel silenzio del parco

September 2025 •Italian

A Portrait of William Blake

February 2025 •English

A short documentary by Sonny Garrett about the life, work and philosophy of William Blake featuring an interview with Author John Higgs.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

March 1972 •Italian

In his delirium from his return from war, Francesco Bernardone goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. He slowly recovers, but after the illness he is no longer the Francesco that everybody knew. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he meditates on the beauty of God's creatures, soon renouncing his riches and his family with plans to rebuild an abandoned church and his life.

Boris I: Part 1 – The Baptizing

April 1985 •Bulgarian

Part one of this two-part epic follows the life and deeds of Boris I – a strong historic personality, which completes his mission to the full and at the end of his life receives holy orders.

Merton: A Film Biography

January 1984 •English

In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

April 1928 •French

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

Pico Sacro [The Holy Mountain]

November 2024 •Galician

In a leafy forest, a Galician sovereign who longs to attain wisdom meets a sorcerer, who tells him: “Go back to your country and study the Earth and the Stars in the sky; anywhere in the world reflects an image of it. You will ride on this arrow, which you must keep for a hundred years and a day. After this time, stick it in the widest valley of all those you possess, with the tip facing the sky. Then the Moon will come and, just as it exerts its action on the waters of the sea, it will act on the arrow, turning it into a holy mountain." - Legend about the Pico Sacro Inspired by Hokusai's views of Mount Fuji and Cézanne's paintings of Mont Sainte-Victoire, "Pico Sacro [The Holy Mountain]" aims to reveal the mystery and the magic that underlie reality.

Awake: The Life of Yogananda

October 2014 •English

An unconventional biography by Oscar nominee Paola di Florio and Sundance winner Lisa Leeman about Hindu mystic Paramahansa Yogananda who brought yoga and meditation to the West in 1920 and authored the spiritual classic "Autobiography of a Yogi," which became the go-to book for seekers from George Harrison to Steve Jobs.

The Mystic Warrior

May 1984 •English

Saga about a proud band of Sioux Indians, and the efforts of one brave to save his people from destruction through the use of mysterious powers handed down by ancestors.

Two Crowns

October 2017 •Polish

Recreation of facts and stories of both experts and people who met Maximilian Kolbe and were shocked by his words and actions.

Don Bosco

June 1935 •Italian

Follows the life of Catholic Priest John Bosco (1815–1888).

Saint George the Hero

January 1989 •Arabic

The life of St. George the hero prince of martyrdoms and the Saint of all ages

Going to Hell

January 2019 •Russian

A documentary film exposing the truth about psychics and fortune-tellers. All the ins and outs of magical TV shows and services of the most famous psychics with evidence, names and prices.

The Secret Glory

September 2001 •English

A British-produced documentary about the bizarre life of Nazi SS officer Otto Rahn, focused on his search for the mystical Holy Grail of Christ.

Häxan

September 1922 •Swedish

Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious-- instead it's a witches' brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.

Vision – From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen

September 2009 •German

Hildegard von Bingen was truly a woman ahead of her time. A visionary in every sense of the word, this famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist.

Heaven Can't Wait

February 2023 •Spanish

The moving story of Carlo Acutis, a young British-Italian amateur computer programmer who died in 2006, aged 15, as a result of leukemia. However, even though he is no longer here, to this day Carlo continues to be a great symbol of strength among young people. The documentary brings together a series of reports from people who entrusted themselves to the intercession of the boy, beatified by the Catholic Church in 2020, and had their lives transformed.

There Be Dragons

March 2011 •English

Arising out of the horror of the Spanish Civil War, a candidate for canonization is investigated by a journalist who discovers his own estranged father had a deep, dark and devastating connection to the saint's life.While researching the life of Josemaria Escriva, the controversial founder of Opus Dei, the young journalist Robert uncovers hidden stories of his estranged father Manolo, and is taken on a journey through the dark, terrible secrets of his family’s past.

Saint Paisios the Athonite

November 2012 •Greek

The Patriarchate of Moscow and the POKROB Film Studio deliver to global Orthodoxy a documentary with a total duration of five hours on the holy life and work of Saint Paisios of Mount Athos.