Nicole Ma – Michelle Mahrer Films https://michellemahrerfilms.com Australian Film Producer & Director Fri, 15 Nov 2019 05:56:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Dances of Ecstasy https://michellemahrerfilms.com/documentary/dances-of-ecstasy Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:56:55 +0000 http://michellemahrerfilms.com/?p=48 [...]]]> 58 minutes 2003
A film by Michelle Mahrer & Nicole Ma

DANCES OF ECSTASY is a sensory journey into the mesmerizing world of trance and ecstasy. Interweaving traditional and contemporary ecstatic dance rituals Australian filmmakers Michelle Mahrer and Nicole Ma’s celebrated documentary film explores how different people around the world connect with a divine power. Whirling Dervishes from Turkey, Orisha priestesses from Nigeria and Brazil, shaman healers from the Kalahari and Korea, and dancers in a Gabrielle Roth workshop in New York pulse to the same beat as thousands of young people at an all night techno dance party in an Australian forest. DANCES OF ECSTASY celebrates the universal human experience where rhythm and dance unite us. DANCES OF ECSTASY is an innovative documentary blending exciting dance rituals, evocative imagery, interviews, and a spellbinding global music soundtrack. The film is an inspiration to dance, and to reconnect with a sense of the sacred that many have lost touch with in modern life.

 

WATCH ON VIMEO

BUY DVD

Australia :- USD$16.95 plus USD$5.00 postage

New Zealand :- USD$16.95 plus USD$7.00 postage

Europe & USA :- USD$16.95 plus USD$10.00 postage

 

DANCES OF ECSTASY DVD is an extended 2 DVD Set ( 240 minutes total) and includes a 25 page booklet.

DVD 1 features the one hour documentary, the complete Sufi Zikir Ceremony and personal in depth documentaries about each of the rituals – including San of the Kalahari Namibia, Orisha ceremony Nigeria, Candomble Ritual Brazil, and Kut Ritual Korea.

DVD 2 includes ’THE POWER WAVE” led by Gabrielle Roth and 80 minutes of global grooves dance music with leading artists such as Cheb i Sabbah, One Giant Leap, James Asher, Banco do Gaia, Bob Holroyd and others accompanied with visuals by D-Fuse.

 

REVIEWS

Best Documentary – Hollywood Spiritual Film Festival

“Dances of Ecstasy is enthralling in its evocation of a mental and physical release that most of us long for ” – The Age Australian

“Rich imagery, gorgeous music and velvety narration make for an unparallelled sensory experience” – Citybeat Los Angeles USA

“A truly awesome documentary” – Phenomena’s USA

“The film provides an insider look into seldom seen rituals. It makes for a compelling ride that replicates the flow and force of the experiences it documents” – LA Weekly

“The rhythm gets to you and the superb editing sucks you in. Fascinating” – Melbourne Weekly Magazine

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]]> Kurtal – Snake Spirit https://michellemahrerfilms.com/documentary/kurtal-snake-spirit Sun, 04 Mar 2012 09:57:49 +0000 http://michellemahrerfilms.com/?p=231 [...]]]> 2002   30 minutes

Spider, an Aboriginal elder, returns with his family to the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia, to visit the sacred waterhole where he communicates with his ancestors through Kurtal – the Snake Spirit. This poetic documentary provides a rare and moving insight into the ceremonies and practices of a resilient Aboriginal community intent on maintaining it’s strong cultural and spiritual links with the past.

Credits
Directors: Nicole Ma & Michelle Mahrer
Producer/Writer: Nicole Ma
Cinematography: Warwick Thornton, Michelle Mahrer & Cameron McGrath
ABC Exec Producer: Richard Moore

Sales
Australia – www.abccontentsales.com.au
International – www.der.org

Produced with the assistance of the Australia Council for the Arts, ABC TV, Australian Film Commission, Film Victoria, Screenwest and the Lotteries Commission of Western Australia and financed with the assistance of ATSIC through Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency Aboriginal Corporation.

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]]> Urban Fairytale https://michellemahrerfilms.com/short-films/urban-fairytale Sat, 03 Mar 2012 05:58:42 +0000 http://michellemahrerfilms.com/?p=50 [...]]]> 1996   14 minutes

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A whimsical gothic fairytale set in a strange timeless reality. A woman makes a meal while her husband and child lie asleep, their heads resting on a dusty dinner table. The meal preparation becomes a recipe for her own inner journey.

Credits
Writer/Director Michelle Mahrer
Producer: Nicole Ma
Cinematography: Lisa Rinzler
Production Design: Carol Wells
Composer: Antony Partos & Elena Kats-Chernin
Sound Design: Paul Healy, Andrew Lancaster

Cast: Arlo Duff, Bernd Naber, Angela Idealism
Produced with assistance by Australian Film Commission

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