To respect my father’s wish I
traveled to Kumbh Mela, one of the world's most extraordinary religious events.
Every 12 years, about 100 million Hindus gather on the banks of the Ganges to
bathe in its sacred waters. There, I encountered remarkable men of mind
and meditation, facing an inextricable dilemma; to embrace the world or to
renounce it. Through FAITH CONNECTIONS my idea was to explore such diverse and
deeply moving destinies as a young runaway kid, a Sadhu, a
mother desperately looking for her lost son, a yogi who is raising an
abandoned baby, and an ascetic who keeps his calm by smoking cannabis – all
connected by one faith against the spectacular display of devotion.
Cinematically it’s a meditation on time and faith expressed
in words and images. Though time changes,
what nourishes humanity remains constant, namely love, memory, hope,
understanding, recognition and belonging.
So as the film is near
completion and is invited by Toronto Film Festival to host its World Premiere –the
cycle of faith is complete. All remains to be seen is the connection of the
spectators to Faith Connections. Because…
Faith is believing when it is
beyond the power of reason to believe.
