Spiritual awakening leads to increased feelings of joy, reprieve, poise, and insight. It makes you feel like you understand yourself better and you can easily connect with other beings. If you’re looking for spiritual awakening, this article offers you a comprehensive list of 8 amazing documentaries on spirituality.
8 Best Spiritual Documentaries
Since this is the golden age of digital entertainment, it’s not hard to find all kinds of spiritual documentaries on the internet. But the million-dollar question is: Will these documentaries give you the kind of spiritual awakening you desire? Sadly, not all the spiritual documentaries you find out there are good enough to awaken you spiritually.
That’s why you have to take your time to review as many documentaries as possible before you make your choice. In this article, we’ve taken time to scour through the internet for the most remarkable documentaries on spirituality for your full awakening.
1. I Am (2010)
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I Am is an American documentary written and directed by Tom Shadyac – a renowned American filmmaker. In this film, Shadyac interviews renowned scientists, philosophers, spiritual leaders, and other scholars about how people can individually and collectively improve their lives.
One of the main questions that he asks his interviewees is: “What is wrong with the world, and what can we do about it?” This film also explores Shadyac’s journey to personal healing and recovery following his grisly bicycle accident in 2007. He claims that the accident ignited his curiosity about human nature and his growing addiction to earthly possessions.
So, he set out to find answers to these questions hoping that he would get a deeper understanding of the human race and its connections. Some of the top personalities interviewed in this documentary include Bishop Desmond Tutu, Thom Hartmann, Elisabet Sahtouris, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and Lynne McTaggart.
This documentary will give you real-life insights into the human race, helping you to understand yourself better. It also allows you to hear what philosophers, scientists, and religious leaders think about the world. It’s a great source of spiritual nourishment.
2. Samsara (2012)
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Directed by Ron Fricke and produced by Mark Magidson in 2011, Samsara is an American non-narrative film that displays international images of the wonders of the world. This documentary is an expansion of two similar films titled “Baraka” and “Chronos”, which was also produced by Magidson. It explores the wonders of the universe, from the most ordinary to the most astonishing.
This documentary was completed over 5 years in 25 countries, and it was shot in 70 mm format. It was then outputted into a digital format. It first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011 and was given a limited release in August 2012.
Samsara expands on the storyline that was developed in Baraka in 1992 and Chronos in 1985. It covers the main wonders of the world from the perspective of the unbelievable lengths of spirituality in humans and the overall human experience in the universe.
However, it’s important to mention that this documentary is neither a traditional film nor a travelogue. It’s a non-narrative documentary that takes the form of guided meditation. The images are meant to awaken your spirituality through meditation.
3. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
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Directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, My Octopus Teacher (2020) is a Netflix Original film that documents the life of Craig Foster – an American filmmaker – who spent a year bonding with a wild common octopus in a kelp forest in South Africa. Foster started free-diving in the cold underwater kelp forest in 2018.
In the course of his free dives, he encountered an inquisitive young octopus. The creature captured his attention and so he decided to build an intimate bond with it. This film shows him following the octopus around for a whole year.
Eventually, the octopus becomes fond of Foster and she begins to play with him. As their bond grows stronger, Foster gets a rare opportunity to experience the octopus’s world where he learns how she lives and sleeps, as well as what she eats. He also discovers the unique tactics that the octopus uses to defend herself against the pyjama sharks.
One of her survival techniques is to stick to the shark’s body. At one time, she loses one of her arms, and she has to retreat to her den for recovery. Surprisingly, the lost arm is regenerated within three months.
She eventually dies a natural death while tending to her eggs and her body is scavenged by a shark. In the film, Foster describes his relationship with the octopus and the lessons it taught him about the brittleness of life as well as a person’s connection with nature.
He further reveals that his interaction with the octopus taught him how to improve his relationship with his family, especially his son, Tom Foster, who’s a diver and a marine biologist. You too can learn great spiritual lessons from the film.
4. Kumare (2011)
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Produced in 2011 by American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi, Kumare is a spiritual documentary that tells the story of Vikram Gandhi, who was born in America to Hindu immigrants. As he grows older, Gandhi becomes skeptical of his religion and is fascinated by the growing yoga trends in America.
So, he decides to make a film about modern gurus who were staunch followers of ancient Indian teachings. In the film, Gandhi finds both the traditional and modern gurus phony. He even impersonates a guru and builds a massive following.
But he later reveals himself as an impostor to show his followers and the world at large that spiritual leaders are pointless. In the film, Gandhi refers to himself as Sri Kumare – an enlightened guru from Aali’kash – a fictional village in India. He also creates a spiritual philosophy that focuses on illusion and self-empowerment.
Although this documentary appears to criticize religion, it offers some valuable lessons about spirituality. You’ll definitely feel awakened at the end of the film. This documentary won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW).
5. Innsaei (2016)
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Directed by Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir and Kristin Olafsdottir, Innsaei talks about soul searching, creativity, nature, and science. It takes you on a journey around the universe where you’ll learn how to connect with your inner self despite the ongoing distractions and stressful situations in the world today.
The word innsaei is common in Iceland and it means intuition. However, this word can have many other interpretations, including “the sea within”, “to sea within”, and “to see from the inside out.” The “sea within” interpretation refers to the limitless nature of your inner self, which is made up of vision, feelings, and imagination that can’t be described in words.
It’s a highly exciting and provocative film that will compel you to do some soul-searching and try to understand yourself from the inside out. It’ll also help you to learn ways to connect with your inner self amid all the outside noises.
6. Mantra: Sounds into Silence (2017)
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Mantra: Sounds into Silence is an original film that was created and directed by Georgia Wyss – the award-winning editor of the popular film “A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash.” Mantra focuses on the practice of chanting mantras and their significance in healing.
The idea to develop this film came in 2004 when Wyss developed an interest in the practice of chanting mantras. She wanted to know how this practice could be used to heal the sick. The film features interviews with scholars like Stephan Rechtschaffen and music by popular vocalists who practice mantras, including Krishna Das, Snatam Kaur, Jai Uttal, Mirabai Ceiba, and Manose among others.
It’s a feature-length film that discusses the melodic and social spectacle of chanting mantras and response introspection. It focuses on ordinary people who find healing and inner peace through this practice. Through this film, your spirituality with definitely be awakened.
7. Human (2015)
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Human is a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand – a French environmentalist. It features extensive aerial footage and fast-hand stories narrated to the camera. It premiered in 2015 inside the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations in front of 1,000 viewers. The former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was in the audience.
The film, which talks about the world today, offers you an immersion into the fundamental principle of being a human being. It shares stories of love, happiness, hatred, strife, and instability. Through this film, you’ll discover the often forbidden and mysterious side of human beings.
This way, you can deeply reflect on your existence and learn how to be of value to others. The personal stories of ordinary people making extraordinary efforts to uplift others and change the world will touch the deepest part of your spiritual being.
8. Unity (2015)
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Written, directed, and produced by Shaun Monson, Unity is a documentary film that was inspired by the film “Earthlings” which was produced in 2005. One of the unique things about this film is that it features the voices of 100 narrators. These narrators comprise of actors, athletes, musicians, entertainers, writers, artists, military officers, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs.
The film explores human transformation delivered in five intervals: Cosmic, Mind, Body, Heart, and Soul. It analyzes these chapters and attempts to offer the audience a deeper understanding of why human beings exist and why they should be united. Through this film, you’ll understand all the expressions of human life.
It promotes the idea of togetherness where people live together harmoniously without racial, economic, religious, spiritual, or social divisions. It portrays a world where these divisions are shunned and replaced with the idea of wholeness.
