Elvis Presley may have been born with the rock ‘n roll in his blood but without poverty, southern culture and a mother whom he adored, Elvis Aaron Presley might have been just another poor white guy rather than the King of Rock ‘n Roll. Narrated by prolific country musician and actor Kris Kristofferson, this feature-length documentary takes an intimate look at Elvis’ childhood growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi. Before the gold records, movie deals and infamous variety show performances, Elvis lived a meager and unassuming life with his parents Gladys and Vernon in a quiet Mississippi town struggling through the Great Depression.

From his father’s prison time and being raised in public housing, on through his first record, pivotal partnership with Colonel Tom Parker, and concluding with his triumphant homecoming concert in 1956, this documentary offers invaluable insight into the upbringing that would result in the legendary King of Rock ‘n Roll. Elvis: Return to Tupelo also features interviews with Elvis biographer Pat Broeske, journalist John Steigenthaler and Tupelo historian Roy Turner.

Guided by vintage audio and video material as well as new interviews with childhood friends, local radio personalities and contemporary musicians, Elvis: Return to Tupelo unearths the events and influences that would inspire both his music and personality. It has been heralded as what “may very well be the best film about Elvis Presley yet made” by Pop Matters.
 
 
 
 

• Full Reviews - Coming Soon!
• Video Clips - Coming Soon!
• Credits - Coming Soon!

Art of Faith is a visually sumptuous series revealing outstanding examples of the art and architecture of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The films bring to life many of the greatest and most significant religious buildings through stunning photography and interviews with the people who know and love them.

The programs are filmed in twenty-seven key locations in eighteen countries, from Russia to the USA, India to Egupt, and the UK to Hungary. The architecture and art of each building is explored by rabbis, priests and imams, as well as congregation members and art historians, who explain the history of these sacred places and, in many cases, their importance today as places of lived faith.

Art of Faith enables viewers to enter into the lives of these people and gain a deeper understanding of the three Abrahamic faith traditions as well as the history and art of these great and glorious buildings.
 

Featured Locations for Judaism
Synagogue, Masada • Old-New Synagogue, Prague • Synagogues, Toledo • Bevis Marks Synagogue, London
Dohany Street Synagogue, Budapest • Princes Road Synagogue, Liverpool • Central Synagogue, New York
Agoudas Hakehilos Synagogue, Paris • Beth Sholom Synagogue, Philadelphia

Featured Locations for Christianity
St. Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai • Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna • Durham Cathedral
Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres • St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol • St. Peter’s Bascilica, Vatican City
Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, Moscow • Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, Vence
Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle

Featured Locations for Islam
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem • Great Mosque, Kairouan • Mezquita, Cordoba
Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Istanbul • Registan, Samarkand • Taj Mahal, Agra
Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking • Assyafaah Mosque, Singapore • Brick Lane Jamme Mosjid, London

View Photo Gallery!

Direct from the Knitting Factory stage in downtown Manhattan, A Not So Silent Night features Kate and Anna McGarrigle in a live performance of The McGarrigle Christmas Hour, joined by Kate’s children, Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Other guests include Grammy award-winner Emmylou Harris, Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed, and famed performance artist Laurie Anderson. An eclectic cast performing original and traditional Christmas-themed songs transports viewers through a rousing rendition of the Christmas story.

Performed by a passionate cast of talented musicians, this memorable performance captures the holiday spirit as the performers, with Christmas bows on their sweaters, link arms and sway together with the music. From an upbeat rendition of “Christmas Wrapping” to a soulful “Thank God It’s Christmas,” A Not So Silent Night celebrates the magic of Christmas.
 
 
 

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In the state of Judea in southern Africa, violence, poverty and sectarianism are endemic. The neighboring Alliance has invaded to restore ‘peace’ at gunpoint. Bloody street battles accompany the neighboring dictatorship’s incursion into its weaker satellite. Promises of a transition to open democratic rule accompany summary executions and brutal massacres. As the civil war reaches a new level, a divine child is born to a lowly couple. As he grows and witnesses the inhumanity of the world he lives in, his angelic guardians offer him an escape to the heavens. He refuses. This is his world and he must try to save it from the work of evil men and from the darkness working through them. As an adult, he travels to the capital, gathering followers from the armed factions of rebels that crisscross the land. He demands that his followers give up their guns and confront their corrupt rulers with a vision of non-violent protest and solidarity. Inevitably, he attracts the attention of the Judean tribal leaders who have struck a power-sharing deal with the aloof Governor Pilate. The Son of Man must be brought down and destroyed. It should be another simple ‘disappearance’ like any other…
 
 

“More moving than the Last temptation of Christ and smarter than Mel Gibson’s Passion”
- Seattle Weekly

“It doesn’t strain to draw parallels with world events because it doesn’t have to…extraordinary and powerful.”
- Roger Ebert

“Vivid, thrilling, awe-inspiring”
- Telegraph

“Son of Man could hardly
be bettered”
- Variety

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Son of Man DVD
Price:	$26.98 (Home Use)
Item #:	LF-DVD-37
Availability:	U.S.
Running Time:	91 minutes
Technical Aspects:	16:9
Language:	English and Xhosa with English subtitles
Copyright:	© 2007 Spier Films. All rights reserved.

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NOLLYWOOD BABYLON chronicles the wild world of “Nollywood,” a term coined in the early ‘90s to describe the world’s fastest-growing national cinema, surpassed only by its Indian counterpart. The film delves first-hand into Nigeria’s explosive homegrown movie industry, where Jesus and voodoo vie for screen time. Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, known in Lagos as “Da Governor,” is one of the most influential men in Nollywood. Undeterred by miniscule budgets, Da Governor is one of a cadre of resourceful filmmakers creating a garish, imaginative, and wildly popular form of B-movie that has frenzied fans begging for more. Among the bustling stalls of Lagos’s Idumato market, films are sold, and budding stars are born. Creating stories that explore the growing battle between traditional mysticism and modern culture, good versus evil, witchcraft and Christianity, Nollywood auteurs have mastered a down-and-dirty, straight-to-video production formula that has become the industry standard in a country plagued by poverty. This burgeoning Nigerian film industry is tapping a national identity where proud Africans are telling their own stories to a public hungry to see their lives on screen. Peppered with outrageously juicy movie clips and buoyed by a rousing score fusing Afropop and traditional sounds, NOLLYWOOD BABYLON celebrates the distinctive power of Nigerian cinema as it marvels in the magic of movies.
 

“Infectious”
-LA TIMES

“Irresistible”
-FILM THREAT

“A fantastic documentary exploring the unknown side of the cinematographic planet.”
-Twitch

“Incredible…think sex, love, betrayal, fire, brimstone, people being transformed into animals.”
-Hour

“Don’t miss it!”
-Montreal Mirror

“Cheers to the filmmakers…for going beyond a look at Lagos as the Wild West of cinema to offer unexpected insights, not always sunny, into the economic and social forces that created and continue to sustain Nollywood.”
-IFC.COM

“A stand out doc!”
-Playback

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• Video Clips - Coming Soon!
• Full Reviews
• Main Character Biographies
• Filmmaker Biographies
• Director’s Statement
• Nollywood Timeline
• Credits

Filmmaker John Walter artfully captures Meryl Streep groping for – and then seizing –  the character in her unforgettable portrayal of Mother Courage in Tony Kushner’s adaptation of the Bertold Brecht masterpiece Mother Courage and Her Children, which was presented by The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival in Central Park in the summer of 2006. As Manohla Dargis in the Times observed, “filmmaker John Walter jumps from art to history and politics and back again, from the theater of the streets to the theater of the stage, without pause. That makes the movie… tough to summarize, which is part of its appeal.”  Though this film could easily have been crafted into a star vehicle for Streep and Kevin Kline, Walter instead digs deeply into Brecht’s motives and politics, unearthing the playwright’s famed and famously clever testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee – the day after which he fled from the United States. THEATER OF WAR is about theater and war, capitalism and Marxism, the postwar anti-Communist hysteria of the 1950s, and one literary genius’s ability to make art from them all.
 
 

“For those interested in the continuing relevance of theater in a society dominated by
momentary electronic impulses, in the responsibility of artists in wartime and in the
greatest anti-capitalist, anti-government, antiwar and anti-romantic playwright of the 20th
century, Walter’s cool, capable, stimulating exploration is a must.”
-Salon.com

“In his inspired, inspiring essayistic documentary Theater of War, [John
Walter] jumps from art to history and politics and back again, from the theater of the
streets to the theater of the stage, without pause. That makes the movie, which follows a
Public Theater production in Central Park of Bertolt Brecht’s epic play Mother Courage
and Her Children, tough to summarize, which is part of its appeal”
-The New York Times

“THEATER OF WAR is more than a backstage pass. It’s an engrossing and fiercely
intelligent look at war and capitalism, and their regrettable dependence on one another.
But even more, it’s about the power—if not responsibility—of art and artists to cast a
light on that which we prefer not to see.”
-Sky Sitney

Since its overwhelming success on Broadway forty years ago, HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In has inspired generations with its messages of love, non-violence and liberation. This definitive and entertaining documentary highlights the continuing relevance of the show and its still radical, transformative power.

In preparation for its fortieth anniversary, the show’s author and co-creator Jim Rado rehearses a troupe of young performers for a new production whose vibrant energy brings HAIR’s fantastic score to life once again. A wealth of archival footage covers US and international productions as well as conveys a portrait of an era, a generation and its politics. Original interviews and new segments feature Milos Forman, Keith Carradine, Ben Vereen, Melba Moore, author James Rado, composer Galt MacDermot, director Tom O’Horgan and others.

With the US today again mired in a prolonged and unpopular war, HAIR inspires a new generation with its cry for peace, love and change.

“Wonderful work!”
- Milos Forman, Director of the movie HAIR

 

“Without exception it is the best HAIR film I have seen.”
- Michael Butler, producer of the Broadway production of HAIR

To buy the educational version, please visit the Alive Mind Education page.

HAIR DVD
Price:	$24.98 (Home Use)
Item #:	ALV-DV-16
Availability:	USA
Running Time:	55 minutes plus 1 hour bonus footage
Production Year:	2007
DVD Extras:	Original Trailer
Language:	English
Copyright:	© 2007 Ina. All rights reserved.

• Video Clips
• Press - Coming Soon!
• Hair Review from DVDTalk.com
• Photo Gallery
• Filmmaker Bios
• Credits
• Suggest a Screening
• Hair on Broadway

HAIR Photos from the Special Preview Screening at the National Arts Club in New York City on Monday, July 28th, 2008

Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman are KIKI & HERB, worldwide smash punk rebel entertainers, cabaret outsiders, and subversive pop stars who rock stages all over the world. Join the Tony-nominated duo at the epicenter of their madness for their first-ever live DVD from the Knitting Factory in New York City. Featuring 15 numbers from their incendiary Year of Magical Drinking Tour including Rhythm Divine, Song Against Sex, I’m Ugly (and I Don’t Know Why), Moments of Pleasure, I was a Maoist Intellectual, and LilyBelle, KIKI & HERB Live at the Knitting Factory delivers the artistry that Ben Brantley of the NY Times hails as “mind-popping, transcendent, and wondrous, of devastating depth and substance.”

If you have any questions about your DVD or merchandise order, please submit your inquiry to our fulfillment house here. Your questions will be answered within the same or next business day.

PROTAGONIST explores extremism through contrasting stories of personal revelation. The film features four individuals who have been devoted to personal odysseys - a cause, a quest, an ideal - to the point of total consumption. At first glance the characters appear disconnected: a former German terrorist, an “ex-gay” evangelist, a bank robber and a martial arts student. But as their stories unfold, one starts to see the parallels between the uncommon, common experience of these four men.

“…an enthralling documentary”
Stephen Holden, The New York Times

“Each man’s story as he tells it is riveting, truly stranger than fiction, and awesome, too, in the way of unfathomable humans.“
- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

“…wonderfully accomplished, unexpected and challenging.”
- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

“….”Protagonist” is an irresistible and novel trip into innovative storytelling and satisfying resolutions.“
- John Anderson, Variety

Sundance Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize Nominee

To buy the educational version, please visit the Alive Mind Education page.

• View Clips
• The Characters
• Director’s Statment
• Filmmaker Bios
• Credits

Oct. 3 - Oct. 17, 2009
May 29-June 10, 2010
October 2-16, 2010

Join us in search of the Goddesses of ancient Crete . . .

Feel Her power in holy mountains, sense Her mysteries in the darkness of caves, pour libations of milk and honey on Minoan altars. Contact a sacred energy that will transform the way you feel about women, about yourself. Walk on the stones of the ancient sites of Knossos, Phaistos, Juctas, Malia, Kato Zakros, Kamilari, Mochlos, Myrtos, and Kato Symi. Discover the matrifocal subtext of Christianity at Paliani, Kera Kardiotissa, and Kritsa. Nourish your soul in the museums of Heraklion, Agios Nicholaos, Siteia, and Archanes. Descend into the caves of Skoteino, Amnissos, and Psychro. Hike in the mountains at Zaros, Archanes, Psychro, and Ida. Stay in small villages, meet local people, dance to Cretan music, feast on fish, tsatsiki, taramosalata, feta cheese, tiny olives, fried potatoes, local wine . . . .

Carol P. Christ loves Greece, the Greek people, the Greek language, and the Goddesses of the Greek land. Crete has a special place in her heart. There, she was taken to an ancient festival, discovered a sacred tree, descended four levels into the darkness of a cave, and was adopted by a Cretan family. Leading Goddess pilgrimages to Crete is a labor of love that calls upon her deepest knowledge and intuition. A pioneer in the Women’s Spirituality Movement, she holds a Ph.D. from Yale. Her books She Who Changes, Rebirth of the Goddess, Odyssey with the Goddess, Laughter of Aphrodite, and Diving Deep and Surfacing, and the anthologies she has co-edited, Weaving the Visions and Womanspirit Rising have changed women’s lives and helped to transform the teaching and study of religion. She has taught at Harvard Divinity School, Pomona College, Claremont Graduate School, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Jose State, and Columbia University. In 1987, she resigned a tenured full professorship and moved to Greece. She has been teaching in Greece since 1981 and as Director of Ariadne Institute has envisioned and led life-transforming, educational programs for women in Crete since 1995.

Mikaela Willow, Ariadne Co-Director, will help you to plan your trip and assist on the spring tour. She wanted to travel to Greece for as long as she can remember. Her lifelong dream was realized when she joined the spring 2006 Goddess Pilgrimage. She discovered her vision of a peaceful and just world grounded in the archaeology of Crete. As a student of life, Mikaela, has studied theater, dance, movement therapy, art, poetry and mythology. A massage therapist for twenty-five years, she also loves spending time with her three adult children, her grand-daughter, and playing in her garden.

Cristina Nevans, who assists on the fall tour, made her first Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete in 1997. She has lived in Greece since 1986; she loves to share her insights about traditional and contemporary Greece and to tell how the Goddesses of Crete changed her life. She is a landscape architect whose dream is to design magical gardens.

Join Us in Crete!

Our tours are small and intimate. Each Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete is limited to the first twenty women who apply. The tour price is $3,450 - this includes hotel accommodations based on double occupancy, air-conditioned bus, entrance fees, breakfasts, and first and last dinners. Single supplement (may be required if you are traveling solo) is $450. No interest loans and a limited number of small scholarships are available. Academic credit may be arranged through California Institute of Integral Studies. Be prepared to walk on uneven ground in archaeological sites, to walk on mountainsides, and to descend into caves.

Day 1
Arrive Heraklion, Crete, dinner and overnight in Heraklion

Day 2
Heraklion Archaeological Museum, lunch in Heraklion, sacred center at Knossos, overnight in Heraklion

Day 3
Paliani Convent with its sacred tree and wonder-working icons of the Panagia (Mary), afternoon in Zaros, a village in the Psiloritis Mountains with a water mill and tavernas with fresh water fish, evening of Cretan music and dancing, overnight in Zaros

Day 4
Sacred center at Phaistos, Minoan tomb, and museum of Cretan Ethnology in Vori, lunch at seaside village of Kalamaki, overnight in Zaros

Day 5
Free day in Zaros to rest, enjoy the mountains and ancient olive groves, overnight in Zaros

Day 6
Archaeological museum in Archanes and peak shrine of Mount Juctas, lunch in Skoteino, Skoteino cave, overnight in Agios Nikolaos

Day 7
Eilitheia cave in Amnisos, Nirou Hani, and sacred center at Malia, afternoon and overnight in Agios Nikolaos

Day 8
Convent of Panagia Kera Kardiotissa, Trapeza and Dictean caves, folk museum at Agios Giorgios, lunch in the Lasithi plain, overnight in Agios Nikolaos

Day 9
Archaeological museum in Agios Nikolaos, church of Panagia Kera in Kritsa with 14th century frescoes, ancient town of Gournia, lunch, swim, and overnight in Mochlos

Day 10
All day in the quiet fishing village of Mochlos with spectacular views of the archaeological sites on adjacent island, optional visit to Mochlos island (weather permitting), rest, swim, eat fresh fish,
overnight in Mochlos

Day 11
Hike the gorge with Minoan cave tombs to Kato Zakros, sacred center at Kato Zakros, lunch and afternoon swim at Kato Zakros, overnight in Mochlos

Day 12
Ancient village of Myrtos, mountain shrine at Kato Symi, lunch in Kato Symi, pottery studios in Thrapsano, overnight in Heraklion

Day 13
Visit the Idean Cave in the Nidan plain and the Minoan Villas at Tylissos, overnight in Heraklion

Day 14
Return visit to Heraklion Archaeological Museum, shopping, overnight in Heraklion

Day 15
Catch your flight home or continue traveling in Greece

Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS A PILGRIMAGE?
A pilgrimage is one of the most ancient and abiding rituals in all cultures. Pilgrims travel to a sacred space to receive inspiration and guidance in the journey of life, to give thanks, and to pray for the healing of physical and spiritual illness.

WHY CRETE?
Crete is one of the few places where a highly developed prepatriarchal culture celebrating the grace of life is clearly documented. We see museums with incredible treasures, visit spiritual centers (previously called palaces), descend into sacred caves, climb to the tops of holy mountains, swim in the life-giving sea, visit a convent with a sacred tree, gain a renewed sense of the beauty and strength of our female bodies, our female souls.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THIS PILGRIMAGE?
It is small and intimate, limited to seventeen women. We share our stories and experiences of Crete,
sharing a sisterhood that will last long after the tour. We keep in touch through our newsletter, Ariadne’s Thread.

WHY TRAVEL WITH ARIADNE INSTITUTE AND CAROL CHRIST?
Carol lives in Greece and is fluent in the Greek language. She introduces us to people we would never
meet on another tour – Cretans whose lives are attuned to timeless rhythms, whose passion spans
cultural difference. A dedicated scholar, Carol’s words are solidly based in years of research. The rituals she leads are inspired by ancient vision and firmly grounded in the land she loves.

WHO HAS COME ON THE PILGRIMAGE?
Young women, old women, women in the middle of life. Our ages are twenty to seventy-six. We have
come alone, with our mothers or our daughters, with friends, with partners. We are single women,
married women, lesbians, mothers, grandmothers, women without children.

DO I HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT THE GODDESS OR GODDESS RITUAL?
Carol’s 73-year-old aunt Dottie didn’t know what a goddess was before she came to Crete. By the third day of the tour, she was praying to “my goddess” for the courage to go into the cave—which she did! Others have been on the Goddess path for years.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN CRETE?
Our tours are planned to avoid the heat and to avoid crowds of tourists. We visit out of the way places you’d never see on another tour. The weather is warm enough to swim, yet cool in the evenings. We walk in the mountains and descend into several caves. Some of the hikes are strenuous but there is always the option to sit and meditate.

HOW MUCH MONEY WILL I NEED?
You can expect to spend $40.00 to $50.00 a day or less on delicious meals in tavernas (small home-style restaurants).

HOW ABOUT SHOPPING?
We have come home with Goddess statues, gold and silver Goddess jewelry, hand-loomed fabric, rugs, lace.

CAN I HAVE A SINGLE ROOM?
Some single rooms are available at a small additional cost.

CAN I GET ACADEMIC CREDIT?
Academic credit is available through the California Institute for Integral Studies or possibly through
your home institution.

WHAT ABOUT SCHOLARSHIPS, LOANS AND PAYMENT PLANS?
A limited number of partial scholarships and loans may be available. We will work with you on
arranging payment plans.

Reviews

“Carol’s combination of spiritual insight and archaeological knowledge is invaluable.
I could have spent ten years traveling on my own and not have discovered so much.”
-Nancy Backus, freelance writer

“The tour was beautifully planned and executed. I especially appreciated talking with the villagers.”
-Rebecca Gibson, poet and English professor

“The pilgrimage brought me home to a spiritual world view that makes
complete sense to me and that makes me proud to be a woman.”
-Carolyn Holt, Organizational Consultant

Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete with Carol Christ - Total Price $3,150 Note: This $500 Paypal deposit is non-refundable.

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