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Scared Sacred (2004)
105 min | English | Producer Cari Green, Harry Sutherland, Tracey Friesen | Director Velcrow Ripper
NFB, VISION TV, BC FILM, MONGREL MEDIA, ARTE FRANCE
"Remarkably moving, strikingly beautiful and surprisingly hopeful...
David Spaner, The Province
"Spectacular... an inspirational message of human compassion."
Janis Cole, NOW Magazine
"Provocative... transcendent... mesmerizing... astonishing!"
Bruce Kirkland, Toronto SUN
"“Important... illuminating... revelatory!"
-Alex Stachan, CanWest
THE FIERCE LIGHT TRILOGY: PART ONE
SCARED SACRED ~ FIERCE LIGHT ~ OCCUPY LOVE
Genie Award Best Feature Documentary, Canadian Academy of Motion Picture
Canada's Top Ten Toronto International Film Festival Group
Special Jury Prize Toronto International Film Festival
Audience Award Vancouver International Film Festival
Best Film Whistler Film Festival
Best Film New Orleans Human RIghts Film Festival
Wilbur Award
“This year’s documentary sensation.” - Viva Mantra – Channel M
”Stunning!” - Alexandra Gill - The Globe and Mail
“Beautiful…profoundly moving!” - Shelagh Rogers - CBC Radio
“Brilliant…inspirational.” - Vicki Gabereau - CTV
“Defiantly hopeful… powerful!” - Al Franken - NPR
“Poetic…moving…impressive. Gracefully interwoven images, editing and sound design lend textural richness well above documentary norm. Ideal for those audiences who wish Fahrenheit 9.11 had more Koyanisqaatsi in it, and visa versa”.
Dennis Harvey - Variety
In a world teetering on the edge of self-destruction, award-winning filmmaker Velcrow Ripper sets out on a unique pilgrimage. Visiting the 'Ground Zeros' of the planet, he asks if it's possible to find hope in the darkest moments of human history.
Ripper travels to the minefields of Cambodia; war-torn Afghanistan; the toxic wasteland of Bhopal; post-9/11 New York; Bosnia; Hiroshima; Israel and Palestine. This powerful documentary captures his five-year odyssey to discover if humanity can transform the 'scared' into the 'sacred'.
Deep in the jungles of Cambodia, Ripper meets Aki Ra, a child soldier forced to lay landmines for the Khmer Rouge. Today Aki wanders his ravaged country with a simple wooden stick, decommissioning thousands of mines each year. In the shattered land of Afghanistan, Ripper searches for a Sufi musician who was banned from performing or even listening to music, by the reign of fundamentalism. The musician discovered a way out: he filled his house with songbirds. In each Ground Zero, he unearths unforgettable stories of survival, of ritual, resilience and recovery.
ScaredSacred deftly weaves together stunning footage with haunting memories, inspirational stories, and an evocative soundscape. Featuring an engaging, first-person narrative, this film is an exquisite portrait of a search for meaning in times of turmoil, a luminous gift to a world in shadows.
Running time: 105 min.