NEW DVD NTSC - A Quest to Heal Beyond the Physical

About the Director - Michelle Mahrer

Michelle Mahrer is an award winning filmmaker with a dance background, who specialises in films about dance and spirituality encompassing documentaries and short films. Her most well known documentaries are DANCES OF ECSTASY, a sensory journey into the world of ecstasy experienced through dance and rhythm, and KURTAL – SNAKE SPIRIT, which follows the journey of Aboriginal elder Spider Snell and his family back to their traditional lands. Other television documentaries include URBAN CLAN a portrait of the Bangarra dance theatre, THE BLACK SWAN a portrait of choreographer Meryl Tankard and THE THREE BALLERINAS a portrait of stars of the Australian ballerinas Lucette Aldous, Marilyn Jones and Marilyn Rowe.

Michelle Mahrer began her career directing award winning music videos in New York where she was based for 8 years and worked with several well known artists such as Jo Cocker, Grace Jones, and Michelle Shocked. Here she met ecstatic dance pioneer Gabrielle Roth who commissioned several teaching videos of her pioneering movement meditation work called 5Rhythms dance.

Her early films explored the genre of Dance Film - short films using dance specifically choreographed for the screen. These featured collaborations with Australian choreographers including DVOID a collaboration with Gravity Feed performance group, XIDU a dance film about rhythm, HORIZON featuring the work of choreographer Eva Karczag, and RIVER WOMAN, a collaboration with indigenous choreographer Bernadette Walong.  Michelle is passionate about making films that uplift humanity and enhance our quality of life. She is also a Dance therapist and 5Rhythms Dance teacher working with dance as a healing tool. She leads a vibrant dance community in Sydney called RadianceDance5Rhythms.

The Story of the Film by Michelle Mahrer

I have always been interested in the use of energy for healing. When my friend Lya with terminal breast and bone cancer decided to go to see John of God, I asked if I could document her experience. When I told another friend Fred Porter from Los Angeles that I was going to Brazil he decided to come too. He had been living with HIV for many years and wanted to try a different approach than Western medicine. This film is the story of their journey.  

When you first arrive at the healing centre called the Casa Dom Inacio in the town of Abadiania, some would say it looks like a cult. Hundreds of people dressed in white are immersed in meditation and prayer where John of God sits and receives people queuing in long lines. John of God is known as a trance medium. He is said to work with spirits who do the healing through him. He always says "I am just a man, it is God who heals". His work draws as many critics as supporters, and has been studied by many doctors, scientists and experts in paranormal phenomena. Like many spiritual traditions, the belief system here describes our physical existence as temporary, our soul as eternal, and our spiritual evolution as primary.  

We follow Lya and Fred through the healing processes at the Casa. Most of the work takes place in the main healing room called the Current Room, where energy is the modality through which healing occurs, similar to many Eastern medical practices popular today such as Acupuncture or Reiki. The primary treatment is meditation and prayers as well as invisible spiritual surgery which from the outside looks more like a focused meditation. While John of God is known for his bizarre physical spiritual operations that appear to be outside the realms of Western medical understanding, they are actually a very small part of the treatment here and are rarely performed. My camera captures some of them when a few brave souls put up their hand and ask for these treatments. He cuts skin and scrapes an eyeball with a kitchen knife, all without anaesthetic, with little bleeding or resulting infection. While sceptics dismiss these as magic tricks they are said to be signs of spiritual intervention. Interviews with people having these operations describe intense experiences of increased energy and wellbeing.  

While initially many come here with the hope that John of God will cure them, as I gain a deeper understanding of what is really happening here, healing is actually considered a collaborative process. The individual is asked to contribute to their healing through looking within for answers. To open the heart, forgive and have gratitude, common in many spiritual traditions, are seen to be a source of healing, that can also influence healing on a physical level. Many scientific studies now show that how we think and feel affects our physiology.  

While Lya and Fred's journey are central to the film, I meet many others on their healing journey, with a range of experiences and reasons for coming here, not just physical illness. Some have extraordinary stories of physical healing; others have no result at all. Some have no physical improvements but are experiencing transformation on an emotional level. Some come to experience spiritual connection or to assist a loved one preparing for death. Like all spiritual traditions, death is considered a doorway into the spirit world, and a natural part of life to be embraced.