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Sacred

Milestones of a Spiritual Life

This eye-opening documentary, comprising footage shot by various filmmakers in more than 25 countries, explores how different religious practices and rituals from around the globe help reveal our common humanity.

The film immerses the viewer in the daily use of faith and spiritual practice. At a time when religious hatreds dominate the world’s headlines, this film explores faith as primary human experience, and how people turn to ritual and prayer to navigate the milestones and crises of private life.

The film’s director commissioned or sourced footage from top independent filmmakers from a wide range of religious traditions, with each team contributing a single scene.

The film, sweeping in its global reach, yet intensely intimate, is a tour de force that unifies these scenes into a single work, told without narration, without experts and, for long stretches, without words at all.

Director Thomas Lennon has been nominated three times for an Academy Award, winning in 2007.

"Abstract, yet moving... The film articulates a concept of universal humanity. No matter the religion or circumstances, we all have the same desires for peace and connection throughout life."

Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times

"…a kaleidoscopic travelogue depicting demonstrations of faith worldwide…the results are surprisingly cohesive…we see personal quests for grace and meaning…"

Andy Webster, New York Times

"A cinematic leap of faith delivers a globe-spanning yet strikingly intimate documentary meditation on how believers around the world practice their religion."

André Hereford, Film Journal International