Hello Alive Mind Friends,

With its recent win of Best Revival of a Musical at the Tony Awards, why not check out the definitive and entertaining documentary HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In, a perfect DVD for any HAIR musical enthusiast? The DVD includes one hour of bonus material featuring interviews with original stage and revival cast members, author/lyricist James Rado, and much, much more. Hailed by Jeffrey Kaufmann of DVD Talk as “a fascinating journey down memory lane with many of the people that created and performed in the musical,” our DVD is a collector’s must have.

In other news, our award-winning documentary FlicKeR had its New York City premiere at the Anthology Film Archives, with special guest DJ Spooky and filmmaker Nik Sheehan in attendance. FLicKeR tells the story of the influential yet little-known artist Brion Gysin (1916-1986), and his amazing dream machine, a drug-free way to achieve altered states of mind through dancing pulses of light, which he and his friends believed would revolutionize human consciousness. San Francisco Weekly called it a “rare documentary that jumps beyond informative and entertaining into the realm of mind-expanding, FLicKeR blends revelatory biography, energizing philosophy, and seductive trances.” Read more about FLicKeR below. To screen this film online, buy a ticket for $4.95. When you receive your ticket number along with confirmation of purchase, go to the Screening Room, select FLicKeR from the pull down menu, and enter the ticket number. The ticket is good for one week. After this, the price of the ticket can be applied to your purchase of the DVD.

Also notable is Intangible Asset #82, which screens July 17th at this year’s SilverDocs. In a Q&A on the SilverDocs website, filmmaker Emma Franz described her film as a “demonstration of how people from completely disparate walks of life can communicate through music.” Preview now for $4.95 by clicking here and apply the price towards the upcoming DVD release, later this summer. When you receive your ticket number along with confirmation of purchase, go to the Screening Room, select Intangible Asset from the pull down menu, and enter the ticket number.

In recent releases, Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action marks its debut on DVD, available exclusively to Alive Mind subscribers. The film chronicles acclaimed filmmaker Velcrow Ripper Ripper’s journey to document examples of spiritual activism, what Dr. King called “Love in Action,” and Gandhi called “Soul Force.” Calgary’s FFWD Magazine called it “Beautiful, poetic, powerful and important. It almost never happens, you finish watching a film and as the credits roll you think ‘everyone should see this film. But everyone (and I mean everyone) should see Fierce Light.” Preview online by purchasing your ticket here, or buy your copy now by clicking here.

Also, a recent op-ed piece by Ray Hanania in The Jerusalem Post makes specific mention of our series Arab Labor. Hanania says “I laughed hysterically. Not at the racism portrayed by each side, but rather at the way that real life deals with these anomalies in our tenuous existence,” adding, “It’s not really an Israeli version of Jerry Seinfeld, the Jewish American actor whose mother is a Syrian-Jew (making him my favorite Arab comedian, by the way). It’s more like the 1960s and 70s American TV sitcom, All in the Family, where race and race issues were ripped apart to make a social point.” Now Available exclusively from Alive Mind, purchase your copy here.

The Huffington Post also notes our film Absolutely Safe in the article “Are Breast Implants “Absolutely Safe?” The article, by Marcia G. Yerman, is an extensive look at the debate on the safety of breast augmentation, a specific point the film addresses. Filmmaker Carol Ciancutti-Leyva is currently drafting legislation for informed consent to be a legal requirement. Show your support either by visiting Carol’s site and learning more, or by purchasing a copy of the film today by clicking here!

As our films continue to make appearances, recent screenings include Fierce Light, which screened at Noetic conference in Tucson, June 17th through the 21st, the Santa Fe Film Center, the Maui Film Festival, and the Waterfront Film Festival in Michigan with an appearance by actress Daryl Hannah. Intangible Asset also screened at the Santa Fe Film Center through June 24th. Finally, The Gates will be screening at the Circle Cinema in Tulsa July 11th through the 17th, with Christo, one of the artists behind the installation, in attendance. Visit the Alive Mind site to learn more about upcoming events!

Until next time friends, follow us on Twitter by clicking here!

FLicKeR will be making its New York City premiere on Saturday June 13 at 8pm.  The film will be showing at the Anthology Film Archives, located at 32 Second Avenue, with another showing on Sunday June 14 at 8pm.

Director Nik Sheehan will be in attendance along with special guests.  DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid will be on hand for the Q&A on Sunday.

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
32 SECOND AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10003; (212) 505-5181 fax (212) 477-2714
For Immediate Release       May 15, 2009

Contact: Stephanie Gray at publicity@anthologyfilmarchives.org

SPECIAL FLICKER-FILM WEEKEND!
June 13 - 14

Featuring NYC premiere engagement of
Nik Sheehan’s documentary
FLicKeR
Filmmaker in person!

And, featuring classic “Flicker” films by
Tony Conrad, Paul Sharits, Peter Kubelka,
William S. Burroughs/Anthony Balch & more

Anthology is thrilled to present a special FLICKER-FILM WEEKEND featuring the NY Premiere Engagement of Nik Sheehan’s award-winning documentary FLicKeR, about Brion Gysin and the dream machine, alongside two jam-packed programs of classic “Flicker” films including Tony Conrad’s infamous THE FLICKER, along with films by William S. Burroughs/Anthony Balch, Peter Kubelka, Bradley Eros & Jeanne Liotta, Paul Sharits, and more!

FLicKeR director Nik Sheehan will be there in person, along with special guests from the film.

To be screened;

NIK SHEEHAN’S DOCUMENTARY FLicKeR

“Really, I think, behind everything, he was trying to teach people to see differently.” –Genesis P-Orridge, on Brion Gysin

FLicKeR tells the story of the influential yet little-known artist Brion Gysin (1916-1986), and his amazing dream machine, a drug-free way to achieve altered states of mind through dancing pulses of light, which he and his friends believed would revolutionize human consciousness.

Featuring greats like William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin (in archival footage), singer Marianne Faithfull, rocker Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo, singer/artist Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV, poet John Giorno, filmmaker Kenneth Anger, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, and artist/turntablist DJ Spooky, among other counter-culture superstars, FLicKeR is a hypnotic documentary that asks fundamental questions about an individual’s freedom to dream and create.

The Dream Machine looks simple enough: a 100-watt light bulb, a motor, and a rotating cylinder with cutouts. Just sit in front of it, close your eyes, and wait for the visions to come. The Dream Machine offers a drugless high that its creator – poet, artist, calligrapher, and mystic Brion Gysin – believed would revolutionize human consciousness. He wasn’t alone. William S. Burroughs thought it could be used to “storm the citadels of enlightenment.”

With a custom-made Dream Machine in tow, Nik Sheehan takes us on a journey into the life of Brion Gysin – his art, his complex ideas, and his friendships with some of the 20th century’s key counterculture figures. Taking the Dream Machine as the basis of its explorations, FLicKeR asks crucial questions about the nature of art and consciousness, and imagines a humanity liberated to explore its creativity in complete freedom.

FLicKeR has played numerous prestige international film festivals and was released theatrically across Canada in winter 2009, to rave reviews and universal praise.

“The rare documentary that jumps beyond informative and entertaining into the realm of mind-expanding, FLicKeR blends revelatory biography, energizing philosophy, and seductive trances.”
– SAN FRANCISCO WEEKLY

“Fascinating… illuminating… riveting, and eye-opening to those who thought they knew their Beats until now.”– John Griffin, MONTREAL GAZETTE

–Showing Saturday and Sunday, June 13 & 14 at 8:00 each night.

FLicKeR
2007, 75 minutes, video.
Special thanks to Ray Privett (Cinema Purgatorio).

****
TWO PROGRAMS OF CLASSIC FLICKER FILMS!

FLICKS PROGRAM 1:

William S. Burroughs & Anthony Balch
TOWERS OPEN FIRE
1963, 16 minutes, 16mm, b&w, sound. Archival print courtesy of the British Film Institute; special thanks to Fleur Buckley (BFI) & Genesis P-Orridge.
TOWERS OPEN FIRE is an assault on linear narrative and good taste, bringing together readings by Burroughs, unrelated film sequences, and the pervasive image of Gysin’s Dream Machine – inducer of hallucinations and mental stimulation.

Paul Sharits
RAZORBLADES
1965-1968, 25 minutes, double-screen 16mm, color/b&w, sound.
“A mandala opens to the other side of consciousness. Since the film ends as it begins and because its inner fabric is made up of loops, an infinite loop is suggested.” –P.S.
“This complex and controversial experiment utilizes two screens and the simultaneous projection of two separate films working in tandem. Each consists of unrelated, compulsively recurring images, not more than a few frames in length, interrupted by carefully-spaced blank or color frames.” –Amos Vogel, FILM AS A SUBVERSIVE ART

Anthony Balch
THE CUT UPS
1966, 18 minutes, 16mm, b&w, sound. Archival print courtesy of the British Film Institute; special thanks to Fleur Buckley (BFI) & Genesis P-Orridge.
With THE CUT UPS, Burroughs and Balch oversaw the creation of a cinema that attempted nothing less than the savage deconstruction of the relationship between image and reality. The film negates even the loose narratives of underground film in favor of a jarring mathematical cut-up technique that attempts to create an estrangement between sensory and psychological conceptions.
Total running time: ca. 65 minutes.
–Saturday, June 13 at 6:00.

FLICKS PROGRAM 2:

Tony Conrad
THE FLICKER
1966, 30 minutes, 16mm, b&w, sound.
Conrad studied the physiology of the nervous system at Harvard. Through this film, consisting of only alternating black-and-white film images, he invents a new film image. By implicating the retina rather than sight – that is, by stimulating physiological rather than psychological impressions – the film displaces the centers of reception from the sensory to the neural.

Bradley Eros and Jeanne Liotta
DERVISH MACHINE
1992, 10 minutes, Super-8mm-to-16mm blow-up, color/b&w, sound.
“Hand-developed meditations on being and movement, as inspired by Gysin’s Dream Machine, Sufi mysticism and early cinema.” –Eros/Liotta
“DERVISH MACHINE reminds us that the cinema is a ferris wheel, a zoetrope and a time bomb.” –Mark McElhatten

Peter Kubelka
ARNULF RAINER
1960, 7 minutes, 35mm, b&w, sound.
Combines an image track consisting of black-and-white frames with a soundtrack alternating white noise and silence. The effect is a flickering screen image and a pulsating sound that is not directly synchronized to the visual pattern. In reducing cinema to its essentials, Kubelka illustrates that “cinema is not movement but a projection of still images – and that it is not between shots but between frames where cinema speaks.”

Victor Grauer
ARCHANGEL
1966, 10 minutes, 16mm, color, sound.
“[It] is a color flicker film that was finished about the same time as THE FLICKER…an extension of [Grauer’s] concepts of music into the spectrum of color, a transposition. So I think each person – Kubelka first, Tony and Victor and myself in the same year – came to it from different angles.” –Paul Sharits
Total running time: ca. 60 minutes.
–Sunday, June 14 at 6:30.

**

Check out these sites for more info on FLicKeR!
Official website (with clips, credit list & more):
http://www.flickerflicker.com

Blog:
http://flicker.myfilmblog.com/
Press screening of the selected “Flicker” films will be held:
Wed, May 27, 1pm – 2pm
Tony Conrad: The Flicker (30 min)
Peter Kubelka: Arnulf Rainer (7 min)
Victor Grauer: Archangel (10 min)

Press screening of FLicKeR will be held:
Thurs, May 28, 1pm – 2:15pm

FLicKeR SCREENERS AVAILABLE
FLicKeR director available for interviews

IMAGES AVAILABLE for FLicKeR & other films

To RSVP to a press screening, request a screener, an image, an interview or further info, email Stephanie Gray: publicity@anthologyfilmarchives.org

About Anthology Film Archives:  Founded in 1970, Anthology’s mission is to exhibit, preserve, collect documentation about, and promote public and scholarly understanding of independent, classic, and avant-garde cinema. Anthology screens more than 900 film and video programs per year, publishes books and catalogs annually, and has preserved more than 700 films to date.
Directions: Anthology is at 32 Second Ave. at 2nd St. Subway: F or V to 2nd Ave; 6 to Bleecker.
Tickets: $9 general; $8 Essential Cinema (free for members); $7 for students, seniors, & children (12 & under); $6 AFA members.

Hello Alive Mind Friends,

We are happy to announce that after premiering at SXSW and Hot Docs, Intangible Asset #82 is on its way to the Silver Docs! This insightful documentary chronicles the journey of Simon Barker, a highly respected Australian musician internationally renowned for his jazz drumming and improvisation. After hearing a recording of one Kim Seok-Chul seven years ago, Simon was immediately impressed by the immense energy and complex technique present. Kim Seok-Chul, officially designated as Intangible Cultural Asset Number 82 by the South Korean government, is an esteemed Korean hereditary shaman, occasionally appearing for villagers to perform rituals for a bumper fishing harvest or to settle restless souls of the dead. As he explored further, Simon discovered that few recordings exist of Kim Seok-Chul and none of his music has been transcribed for future generations. With the conviction that he must find and learn from the enigmatic shaman, Simon begins his seven-year quest.

Erin Criger of Toronto’s City News commended the film as “the most unlikely of road-trip movies,” adding that “it’s a race against time to meet the ill man and part of the journey is spent learning the intricacies of Korean music.” Jay Seaver of EfilmCritic called it “a fascinating trip from the very first stop,” and a “a great place to start, as it really drives home just how different traditional Korean music is from traditional Western music, while getting us into the countryside and establishing what a strong tradition music has in the culture.” Intangible Asset #82 will be playing at cultural venues and micro cinemas throughout the summer and will be available this fall on DVD, so keep an eye out for upcoming screenings in your neighborhood either at Alivemind.net, or on our new Alive Mind Twitter feed. Read the filmmaker’s blog here.

Also coming soon to a theater near you is Fierce Light, which ranked #2 against against Star Trek in Toronto and Vancouver! This transformational documentary captures the wave of Spiritual Activism exploding around the planet, and the powerful personalities who are igniting it, such as Alice Walker, . Vanessa Farquharson of the National Post calls it a “thorough and honest portrait of today’s activists and what they should understand if they hope to move forward with any measure of success,” and Liz Braun of the Toronto Sun says, “Fierce Light offers a wide variety of interpretations of spirituality. Connectedness is a common thread, and that connection extends to the planet and every aspect of nature.” Read Velcrow’s blog to learn more about Fierce Light and upcoming screenings/appearances or preview online for $4.98, which is applicable to your future DVD purchase.

Among our new releases, Arab Labor is now available on DVD. This controversial Israeli TV comedy series focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his Palestinian neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem. Poking fun at the cultural divide, Kashua and his characters play on religious, cultural and political differences to daringly depict the mixed society that is Israel. Los Angeles Times hailed Arab Labor as a “valiant, consistently hilarious attempt to explore the tensions and contradictions of everyday life among the Israeli minority.” Buy your copy here.

Also out is The Tibetan Book of the Dead. An ancient source of strength and guidance, The Tibetan Book of the Dead remains an essential teaching originating in the spiritual cultures of the Himalayas. Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this enlightening two-part series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound wisdom.

Another new release is Through the Eastern Gate. Filmed in the gorgeous countryside and ancient cities of India and Turkey, this compelling documentary follows the journeys of three young people who have turned their backs on the material comforts and distractions of the West to find meaning in the spiritual philosophies of the East. Save 25% through June 15th when you purchase The Tibetan Book of the Dead and Through the Eastern Gate Insert, just insert code ThroughTibetan25 at checkout.

Upcoming DVD releases include So Help Me God, a witty and exploratory journey across America in search of God in different cultures, is one of our upcoming releases. In the film, the filmmaker and protagonist meets with Mormons, Muslims, Jews and Jehovah’s in hope they can help to fill the hole he feels his life is missing. The film approaches the complex yet universal questions about God and religion in an entirely accessible way. The film will be available on DVD in late July, priced at $24.98.

In news around the world, at Cannes Richard Lorber unveiled the upcoming release of Sokurov’s The Sun and 2008 New York Film Festival winner Tony Manero. Tony Manero, is a macabre political parable, in which the main characters’s obsession with Saturday Night Fever is an apt metaphor for the dictatorship. The film’s use of violence and sexual dysfunction is appropriate and powerful. Raul’s fantasy, and his single-minded pursuit of it, paints a dark picture of life under a dictator.

Until next time friends, sign-up for the Alive Mind newsletter to receive information about upcoming releases, screenings near you and special promotions or follow us on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/alivemind

Hello Alive Mind Friends,

Spring is in the air and March madness is upon us. To celebrate the arrival of spring, we are offering special discounts on many of our titles, which you can read about below as well as other exciting news and events.

Along with the thaw in the air, we welcome our new Alive Mind contributor Mike Jahn. He writes on diverse topics, from Jim Morrison to Sarah Palin and everything in between with the irreverence you would expect from the former rock critic of The New York Times. We sent him a copy of HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In for his review - and look forward to a few personal stories from backstage. Jeffrey Kaufmann of DVD Talk hailed our Hair documentary as “a fascinating journey down memory lane with many of the people that created and performed in the musical, (it) becomes a document of a period of immense change and activism in America,” and Video Librarian describes it as, “…a celebration of this countercultural classic.”  Our DVD is a collector’s must have and when you purchase your copy from Alive Mind now through the end of March you will receive a 25% discount - simply click BUY HERE! And if you happen to be in New York City, don’t miss the return of the original Hair musical on Broadway at the Hirschfield.

This month we are also happy to welcome Lewis Lapham, the former editor of Harper’s and founder of the Lapham’s Quarterly, to our Alive Mind community. Lewis is the tour guide of The American Ruling Class, which received four out of five stars and the following accolades from Curled Up With a Good DVD.

The American Ruling Class is a dramatic-documentary… It’s a musical thanks to the several musical numbers which illustrate this information. The musical aspects help to pull the punch on the reality of the ruling class, while so many people on whom the country depends on can barely manage to make ends meet. The powerful and the rich make decisions that affect everyone, hoarding mounds of money, while the working-class slobs scramble to serve them dinner, make their beds, and worry for the health of their families. And late at night, the great and mighty Wurlitzer plays on.

Purchase your copy now from Alive Mind through the end of March and receive a 25% discount - simply click BUY HERE!

Amina Wadud has also returned to Alive Mind & Spirit and is now writing about her life in Indonesia. On the top of her agenda is gender reform in Islam, no small challenge. We send our respect for her endeavors and support. A fellow blogger at Alive Mind & Spirit, Carol Christ, is preparing for her semi annual Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete May 23 to June 6th and October 3 to the 17th.

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…

Sign me up! And if you would like to join Carol, please learn more about the tour HERE.

Our newest documentary release is Through the Eastern Gate, which takes a ’soul-provoking look into the deeper meaning of life,” according to IndieWire. Filmed in the gorgeous countryside and ancient cities of India and Turkey, Through the Eastern Gate is a compelling documentary following the journeys of three young people who have turned their backs on the material comforts and distractions of the West to find meaning in the spiritual philosophies of the East. Follow them on their journey and learn about modern tantric yoga, life in a Buddhist Himalayan convent and the spiritual practices of whirling dervishes. Order your copy of Through the Eastern Gate now and receive a special 15% discount through the month of March - simply click BUY HERE!

In addition to all of the stimulating new content at Alive Mind, we are also offering screenings of many of our films. If you would like to see one of our films on the big screen, check out the Events section on our site. Our films are now playing in New Orleans, New York, Sarasota and many other cities soon. If you would like to host a screening, please let us know! We’ll work with you to set one up at your local library, community center, local coffee shop or book store.

Allbest,

Elizabeth Sheldon

The American Ruling Class garnered
a rating of 4 out of 5 stars from
Curled Up With A Good DVD!

Curled Up with a Good DVD
By Eric Renshaw
February, 2009

Americans like to pretend we have a classless society. It’s not usually a topic for polite conversation. Lewis Lapham, long-time editor of Harpers magazine, guides two Yale grads in their decisions to either join the American ruling class or to follow their conscience.

Lapham asks them at their graduation party what they will do next. Jack Bellamy (Caton Burwell) has an offer at Goldman Sachs that will likely make him tons of money. Mike Vanzetti (Paul Cantagallo) says he’ll write and take odd jobs for a while before deciding on a career. Lapham notes that Jack is going to join the American ruling class, explaining: “The country is governed by a commercial oligarchy.” While the boys scoff at this, Lapham soon demonstrates that it is exactly so.

Lapham meets with Jack and Mike to interview as many people of power as can be met. Jack and Mike are naive about the existence of the ruling class in America: when Jack asks author Kurt Vonnegut if such a beast exists, Vonnegut laughs at him, wondering where he’s been. Jack and Mike play the perfect neophytes; Jack, being a little more blue in his blood than Mike, leaps in head-first, climbing up the ladder at Goldman Sachs. Mike is more cautious. He sees that it’s possible to make a ton of cash, but he’s not sure he wants to sell his soul to do so.

In addition to Vonnegut, Walter Cronkite (who tells Jack to “by all means” join the ruling class), James Baker III, Bill Bradley, Mike Medavoy, Pete Seeger and more give their opinions on the ruling class. We see the corridors of power as Lapham guides Jack and Mike in their quest for knowledge - Pentagon press briefings, The World Economic Forum, the Council on Foreign Relations, high-society dinners, and more.

The American Ruling Class is a dramatic-documentary-musical, a dramatization in that Jack and Mike aren’t quite as they seem - I think the only difference is that they went to Harvard rather than Yale. It’s a documentary in that all the information presented is purported to be true (and I think it is). It’s a musical thanks to the several musical numbers which illustrate this information. The musical aspects help to pull the punch on the reality of the ruling class, while so many people on whom the country depends on can barely manage to make ends meet. The powerful and the rich make decisions that affect everyone, hoarding mounds of money, while the working-class slobs scramble to serve them dinner, make their beds, and worry for the health of their families.

And late at night, the great and mighty Wurlitzer plays on.

To purchase, learn more about the film or view clips, click here

• Return to The American Ruling Class film info page.

Antonio Ferrera and Albert Maysles’ documentary “The Gates” has been acquired for North American distribution by Richard Lorber’s nine-month old distributor Alive Mind. “The Gates,” which chronicles the conception and evolution of artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Central Park installment by the same name, will be Alive Mind’s first theatrical release. It will open in New York this spring followed by select venues throughout the country. The film will also be immediately available to educational institutions that have been actively seeking it since for its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

“We are delighted that through our film Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s visionary achievement will find new appreciation long after The Gates have come down,” said Maysles in a statement. “We look forward to working with Richard and his Alive Mind team to keep the story of the long march to Central Park alive.”

Maysles and his brother David, who died in 1987, are best known for such films as “Salesman,” “Grey Gardens,” and “Gimme Shelter,” began filming “The Gates” in 1979 when artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude began actively pushing their installation project forward with the New York City government. While Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s artistic vision had hoped to unite all of New York City, the public was suggesting a publicly financed “defacement of a masterpiece,” something like putting a mustache on the Mona Lisa at tax payers’ expense. The proposal was denied. Twenty-four years later, after 9/11 and the election of art patron Michael Bloomberg as mayor, the project was approved in January of 2003.

The film, eventually brought together by Antonio Ferrera and co-directed with Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Matt Prinzing, captures the project, which eventually cost Christo and Jeanne-Claude $21 million.

Alive Mind’s acquisition of the film was negotiated by Antonio Ferrera and Patricia Jones (on behalf of Maysles Films, CVJ Corporation, and Ferrera Films) and Richard Lorber and Elizabeth Sheldon on behalf of Lorber HT Digital.

Alive Mind’s intent is to release documentary programming in “the areas of enlightened consciousness and cultural transformation.” Alive Mind was launched by Lorber as a specialty distribution arm of his new company, Lorber HT Digital. The company seeks to “provide its audience with intellectually provocative work from leading filmmakers.” Current releases include the documentary film the musical “Hair,” “Hair: Let The Sun Shine In,” director Jessica Yu’s “Protagonist,” and “FLicKeR” about Brion Gysin, visionary artist and beat generation inventor of the “Dreamachine.”

“I had the idea to start a new label for documentaries about a year ago for two key reasons,” Lorber told indieWIRE. “First i realized that many fine non-fiction works were failing to connect not only with general audiences but also even with specialized audiences whose interests were aligned with the focus of the filmmaker. In addition I saw a need to differentiate certain kinds of films in the general documentary category with a better definition, other than just what a program is NOT (that is, fiction).”

In Lorber’s case, it was a personal interest in docs he “considered transformative.” “We formulated a hybrid strategy first to overcome the schlerosis of the tradition theatrical to DVD distribution model with a direct to consumer initiative combining alternative venue public screenings with targeted, grass roots direct to consumer availability of our content, both as DVDs and digitally delivered,” Lorber explained. “The second phase engages the traditional marketplace through a distribution deal with one of the majors (getting us into the usual suspects’ outlets–Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster and all the brick and mortar legacy retailers such as are left), while retaining for our direct distribution the right to continue to deal with specialty outlets and online “affinity” partners who represent constituencies that are core for our content.”

The company generally works on a “rev share basis” with their filmmakers and aspires to make them “marketing partners” in an effort to “reach the largest specialized audience and the most passionate segments of the general audience.” With “The Gates,” which Lorber calls “an epic film of social transformation through artistic vision and grit,” the company has its first theatrical release. Lorber says the goal for the film, and all Alive Mind’s acquisitions, “is to achieve its vision in content and form–bringing the best “aha” moment to an expanding circle of core audiences through vital new distribution strategies that evolve, like life itself, from the past.”

http://www.indiewire.com/biz/2009/01/alive_mind_acqu.html

Greetings Friends,

The holidays are here! As the gift-giving season arrives, we want to share our latest Alive Mind DVD releases for the discerning documentary film-lover in your life as well as some perennial favorites. Now through December 31st take 25% off selected titles from our catalog - simply click the desired BUY NOW! links below or enter coupon code HOLIDAY25 during checkout!

The holidays are a time for romance and we have just the DVD for couples seeking to put the va-va-voom into their relationship. Sacred Love-Making will awaken all of your senses, challenge you, enrich your intimate understanding, increase your spontaneity, cultivate your artistry, and - without a doubt - make you a better lover. Learn ancient Taoist love secrets and rituals for deeper sexual satisfaction and emotional connection as Love Educator Karinna Kittles-Karsten guides you through the Sacred Love-Making experience.

Now available for the holidays at 25% off - BUY NOW!

Ever wondered what to give a non-believer for Christmas? How about The Atheism Tapes? This definitive series features six of today’s leading men of science and letters: Daniel Dennett, Colin McGinn, Richard Dawkins, Steven Weinberg, Denys Turner and Arthur Miller. The Atheism Tapes is the perfect gift to gain a deeper understanding of underlying scientific, philosophical and theological arguments against belief.

Now available for the holidays at 25% off - BUY NOW!

The American Ruling Class is a timely documentary that explores the antecedents of today’s economic crisis. Join Lewis Lapham, the renowned essayist, author and longtime Harper’s Magazine editor on a journey through the corridors of wealth and power with two recent Yale graduates. Find out who has power (as opposed to just wealth & privilege), how they acquired it, and most importantly, how they keep it.

Partial proceeds benefit the American Agora Foundation, publisher of the Lapham Quarterly, plus save 25% - BUY NOW!

The definitive and entertaining documentary HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In is the perfect DVD for any HAIR musical enthusiast. The DVD includes one hour of bonus material featuring interviews with original stage and revival cast members, author/lyrist James Rado, and much, much more.

Purchase your copy today and receive a special 25% discount plus Alive Mind will donate $3 to help support Broadway Cares - BUY NOW!

KIKI & HERB: Live at the Knitting Factory — a definite must for lovers of cabaret, musical theatre, and those needing a lift from the day-to-day drudge of the daily news headlines and dreary winter weather. There’s still time to snag the DVD of their one and only performance on film, KIKI & HERB: Live at the Knitting Factory.

Now available for the holidays at 25% off - BUY NOW!

And don’t forget our box sets and combo packs for your gift list!

Give the best in music with the Special Edition DVD/CD set of Sound of the Soul. This festival favorite takes you on an exhilarating journey to Fez, Morocco for the Sacred World Music Festival and includes a 10-track bonus CD Music from Sound of the Soul. Featured artists include Anuna, The Tallis Scholars and The McCullough Sons of Thunder.

Now available for the holidays at 25% off - BUY NOW!

Take a trip without leaving your seat with The Altered Consciousness Collection. These three award-winning documentaries explore the frontiers of human consciousness and the iconic pioneers who opened the doors of perception. From early LSD research and hypnotic “dream machines” to the transformational powers of Eastern spirituality, The Altered Consciousness Collection reveals the sub-culture of enlightenment seekers who influenced a generation.

Now available for the holidays at 25% off - BUY NOW!

For the goddess in your life, try The Goddess Combo featuring Women and Spirituality and Signs Out of Time. Women & Spirituality is the definitive trilogy on the feminine sacred divine and Signs Out of Time is a revealing look at the influential life and work of world-renowned feminist archaeologist Dr. Marija Gimbutas, the female “Joseph Campbell.”

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Coming Soon from Alive Mind

What happens when a group of people voluntarily strip naked? In a wooded glade somewhere near San Francisco, Paul Lowe, a recognized guru and spiritual leader, guides a group on a ten-day ‘workshop’ to explore their spiritual psyche through sexual exploration. Searing emotional honesty, full nudity, and self-discovery are the hallmarks of this groundbreaking and provocative documentary. The Workshop challenges the rules of modern society by pushing all boundaries of normal convention. Available in January.

Last year nearly 400,000 women in the United States chose breast implants. At a time when more women than ever are making this choice, fewer voices than ever seem to be asking “Why?” And fewer still are asking “Are they safe?” Absolutely Safe is the story of everyday women who find themselves and their breasts in the tangled and confusing intersection of health, money, science, and beauty.

There’s so much more, why not revisit www.alivemind.net to see all of our titles? We are sure there’s a film you would like to share with friends and family. And don’t forget to browse our community blogs: Alive Mind Woman, Secular Philosophy, and Alive Mind & Spirit featuring some of today’s most stimulating thinkers and activists including Ralph Metzner, Jennifer Fox, Ariel Gore, Colin McGinn, Karinna Kittles-Karsten, and more.

All best,

The Alive Mind Team

Hello Alive Mind Friends,

We are so pleased about the excitement brewing for our latest release Hair: Let the Sun Shine In. Following our joint event with Bottlerocket Spirit & Wine in New York City earlier this month, Playbill announced Hair: The Musical’s return to Broadway in 2009! On October 14th the folks that bring you the Emmys, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, will host a “Meet the Filmmaker” screening with filmmaker Pola Rapaport hosting a pre-screening Q&A. Not in the area and you want to support the Meet the Filmmaker series? Alive Mind will donate $3 to NYEmmys.org from every purchase of Hair: Let the Sun Shine In throughout October (simply enter coupon code AMFILM10 during check-out and you will ALSO receive a 10% discount). Check out our list of events to see if Hair: Let the Sun Shine In will be screening in your area soon.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. As part of the awareness campaign, Alive Mind is presenting the release of Absolutely Safe, a documentary which takes a stark look at the controversial issues surrounding breast implants. Filmmaker Carol Cianetti-Leyva, an active advocate for women’s health and rights, joins our blog team at Alive Mind Woman. See her latest post “Eat Beautiful, Feel Beautiful?” Absolutely Safe will make it’s home DVD debut in October and chances to screen this film are now available nationwide. Visit www.absolutelysafe.com for screening dates near you.

An interesting news item came up on Yahoo News last week about a new study by the Human Consciousness Project which focusing on examining the brain and consciousness of patients who have had near death experiences. Bringing science and spirituality to answer the question what happens when we die, we invite you to watch Secrets of the Soul and comment on Alive Mind and Spirit on your personal experience. Be among the first ten to post your answer and get a free DVD of your choice from Alive Mind.

The world has had their collective eye on the state of America’s recent financial crisis. To help us make sense of it all our Secular Philosophy blogger Massimo Pigliucci poses a logical debate on whether evolutionary theory favors government regulation or not in his piece “Wilson vs. Arnhart on Darwinism and the economy”. Check it out and while you’re at it, also read the essay series on Religion and science with some of today’s sharpest minds such as Michael Shermer, Christian de Duve and John Haught.

All is not gloom and doom, even if it is election season. Alive Mind invites you to lighten your load with a bit of sexual healing with our latest on-line community, Sex Tête. Here you will discover films and writings that explore how the sensual and erotic connect with the spirit and intellect through sex. Look for our November releases: The Workshop and Sacred Lovemaking. In the meantime spend some time with our guest blogger and filmmaker Karinna Kittles-Karsten where she has posted the very informative piece: “What is Sacred Lovemaking?”

Congratulations from the Alive Mind team to Beth Murphy, the producer of Beyond Belief, who was awarded the Fledgling Fund Award for Socially Conscious Documentaries at IFP. Beth is off to an auspicious start for her next film. Purchase your copy of Beyond Belief and Alive Mind will donate $3 to Beth Murphy and her next film.

Also newsworthy…Walden House and the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto will present a screening of Protagonist at the Grand Lake Theatre on October 16th. For more than 40 years Walden House has been transforming the lives of people with alcohol and other drug addictions in San Francisco and throughout California. In honor of the work Walden House has done through the years, Alive Mind will donate $3 from each sale of the Protagonist to directly support women with children re-entering society after prison.

Allbest,
Elizabeth, The Editor

Greetings Friends of Alive Mind:

Although summer is winding down, we want to invite to you to let the sun shine on and on. On September 17th, Alive Mind and Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit are proud to host a special wine tasting event in honor of the DVD release of the documentary film Hair: Let the Sun Shine In and the closing of the critically acclaimed performance of the legendary musical in Central Park. The wine tasting event will also feature a discussion with filmmaker Pola Rapaport and guest appearances with some of the original cast who will be available to autograph copies purchased on site.

In honor of 9/11 and in remembrance of the victims and their families, Alive Mind is exclusively offering the award-winning documentaries, Forgiveness: Stories of Our Times and Beyond Belief, two insightful films that chronicle individuals who have moved beyond grief. In honor of those who died and their families, Alive Mind will donate, throughout the month of September, $3 from each purchase of the Hope Combo Pack to Beyond the 11th, the charitable organization founded by filmmakers Susan Retik and Patti Quigley dedicated to helping Afghan war widows.

On a less sober note, because we know you just can’t get enough of that smash punk rebel duo Kiki & Herb we think you’ll also get some kicks from the Kinsey Sicks–another band of cabaret outsiders who take transgression to new heights in their latest DVD– Kinsey Sicks: I Wanna Be A Republican. They’ll cure convention boredom with such election year memorable melodies as Be a Slut, Rent a Homo, What Does Money Buy…the best freshest mashed-up outrageous musical political comedic satire this side of an overstuffed sentence.

As they say, there’s MORE!…On the off chance that the irreplaceable Kiki & Herb: Live at the Knitting Factory hasn’t found its way to you yet or your only copy has gone on a date we’re offering you a sensational CABARET COMBO DEAL! Of course you can still buy one or the other but why not both–there’s never enough of Kiki and Herb and the Kinsey Sicks to go around… we are offering The Cabaret Combo for 25% off the suggested retail price through the election, so tell your friends.

Speaking of politics, you can read Susan Levine’s commentary on “McCain’s Feminist Mistake” at Alive Mind Woman. She offers an insightful analysis from the early days of the suffragette movement to McCain’s appointment of Sarah Palin regarding gender and politics. You can also find more political commentary from Carol Christ as well as a protestor’s perspective on the Republican National Convention at Alive Mind & Spirit.

And speaking of spirit, we’re pleased to announce the release of our first world music title: Sound of the Soul, an exhilarating and inspiring cinematic journey to North Africa’s Fez Festival of World Sacred Music. “The music you will see in this film is extraordinary, and its message of healing is profound,” says Peter Scarlett, executive director of the Tribeca Film Festival. Sound of the Soul will be available September 17th and includes a companion CD featuring ten concert performances from the DVD. Pre-order your copy now and receive 10% off.

Are you interested in what some of today’s leading philosophers and scientists think about the relationship between religion and science? Is, as Richard Dawkins suggests, religion the root of all evil, and if so, does science offer an alternative? You can read the first in the series of essays from Christian de Duve, the 1977 Nobel Prize winner in physiology and medicine, at blog.secularphilosophy.com. Other respondents include Susan Jacoby, Michael Shermer, John Haught and John Luftus, to name a few. Additional insights from Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Colin McGinn, Denys Turner, Steven Weinberg will also be posted from their Atheism Tapes interviews.

Finally, take a look at the stellar review for Workingman’s Death published at Blogcritic Review.

This is a glimpse into a reality that few of us know anything about, the truly dreadful things that people are willing to accept as the cost of survival. If this movie doesn’t make you wonder what kind of world would demand this sort of payment from people in return for giving them the barest essentials required for survival, I don’t think anything ever will.

Another Alive Mind release, Protagonist received a four-star review and was chosen as Editor’s Pick in Video Librarian! We just can’t help boasting when there’s so much more news to share, but we’ll keep that until the next Latest Buzz.

Allbest,
Elizabeth, the Editor

Dear Friends,

Where to start? I guess a good place is to let everybody know that we have a new home for Alive Mind where all of our independent communities are now housed under one roof: Women and Spirituality can now be found under Alive Mind and Spirit and joining our list of eco spirituality bloggers Starhawk and Carol Christ are Jonathan Ellerby and Richard Smoley. Amina Wadud is joined by Ariel Gore, Jennifer Fox and Beth Murphy over at Alive Mind Woman and Susan Reimer-Torn will be providing pearls of wisdom in her Out Of The Box column as well as being a general contributor.

In addition to our new home, we also have many new exciting DVDs. Available later in August for pre-order are HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In and Workingman’s Death, in addition to our latest mind-expanding releases FLicKeR, Hoffman’s Potion, and Hippie Masala, available as individual titles or as The Altered Consciousness Collection box-set. Sign-up for our newsletter and receive 15% off of your next purchase or use the coupon code AMAUGUST10 to receive a 10% discount when you purchase any of our DVDs during the month of August.

Our affiliate program continues to grow. New affiliates include Yoko Ono at ImaginePeace.com for Beyond Belief, who writes:

My sisters of widowhood, each one of us has experienced a personal and devastating loss we can never share with anybody. But all of us share the hope for the future. By reaching out to each other, as you have been doing, we are creating a ring around the world of love and understanding. Thank you for your wisdom and courage. We are standing together. When we feel alone, let’s remember that and the powerful ring we are creating. I love you!

Remember, every time you purchase a copy of Beyond Belief, we will donate $3 to the Beyond the 11th Foundation to help transform the lives of Afghan war widows. The Alliance of Women Directors added Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, Glenys Livingstone at Pagaian.org added Signs Out of Time, and Pledge of Allegiance Blues has been picked-up by Rational Response Squad, NoBeliefs.com, Midwest Atheist & Free Though Society and Dances With Anxiety. If you are interested in becoming an affiliate, please check it out here.

And last but not least, on Monday July 28th the entire Alive Mind crew plus our friends over at Cactus Three hosted a private screening of Hair: Let the Sun Shine In at the National Arts Club in New York City (view photos), one of my all time fave venues. It was a smashing success by all accounts (modesty aside).

HAIR directors Wolfgang Held and Pola Rapaport with Alive Mind CEO Richard Lorber

HAIR director Pola Rapaort, HAIR co-creator Jim Rado & HAIR director Wolfgang Held

So until the next Buzz, I hope you find lots of great content here at Alive Mind. Some of my personal favorites are Jennifer Fox’s Call Me Stupid But Not Because I Don’t Have Children, Ariel Gore’s Pregnancy, and Carol Christ’s Why I Voted for Obama.

Allbest,

Elizabeth