Kukeri

The dawn of the 21st Century has found much of modern society obsessed with occult mysteries, sadistic violence, and evil. Everything from cartoons and video games to recorded music and major theatrical films are being designed and promote to "satisfy" the public's insatiable lust for the macabre. Most disturbing is the rise in the practice of Satanism. Law enforcement agencies are unable to keep up with the increasing numbers of heinous, Satanically inspired crimes. Basically a remake of Devil Worship: The Rise of Satanism (1989) using the same footage.

A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.

America Undercover looks at the phenomenon of Satanism in the World. It talks to practitioners of Satan worship and interviews those who claim that they have been victimized by it. It also talks to some of the people who want to stamp Satanism out for good. Same doc as 'In Satan’s Name', but with American narration.

A documentary on the surviving syncretic pagan midwinter customs of the British Isles, focusing on nine ritual celebrations ranging from the Moray Firth in the north, the Somerset Levels in the south, Humberside in the east, and County Kerry in the west. Featuring music by the Albion Band and narration by John Tams.

An examination of occultism as practiced in different parts of the world.

DocuDrama about 13th century pre-Christian culture. Danish spy Lars enters the tribal lands of the Baltic peoples, where he takes part in religious rites, cruel forays, gets high during the Summer Solstice, becomes slave to the Couronians and even fights the crusaders. Who were the last pagans of Europe and how did they live? It is a unique trip into the textures of the past and into the unknown lands of the Baltic Tribes.

Part fictional documentary, part musical anthropology, scientific magic, and eco-anarchic utopian journey in a landscape of eight parts. You're Kaloyan, the sax player. Or Diana, the Gypsy dancer. You journey together through Bulgaria in search of the utopian village Dolphinovo. It's not Sofia, Paris or New York. That's why this story is rural, rustic and polyphonic. It's like a string of painted walls of village houses, folk songs and allegories. However, who is Ivo? And why does he lead you through these winter landscapes a year later?

A peek into the lives of a misunderstood community of pagans.

Documentary about three young people, each a member of a fringe religious community, who have separated themselves from mainstream America in order to live immersed in their faiths. Set against depressed but quintessentially American landscapes - the former revivalist district of upstate New York, old mining country in the mountains of northern California, and the stark badlands of South Dakota - the film interlaces three very intimate, apolitical portraits of young individuals trying to lead more extraordinary, mystical lives.

May It Fill Your Soul is a film about Bulgarian traditional music, about the pain of emigration and the promise of immigration, and about a family with a century-long musical history. Bulgaria's astonishingly rich village music traditions include strong women's singing, musical instruments with roots its millennia-old pastoral lifestyle and its 500-year history in the Ottoman Empire, and its lively dancing in additive meters of 5, 7, 9, and 11 beats to the measure. These practices are presented through the lens of a musical family trained during Bulgaria's communist regime (1944-1989) to represent the best that Bulgaria had to offer the world, but who made the wrenching decision in the post-communist period to immigrate to the United States for the sake of their daughters' futures. From that vantage point they have been able to teach their art to, and "fill the souls" of, singers, dancers, musicians, and audiences all over the world.

The Balkans is home to an ancient pagan tradition where magic and mystery still have a sacred place in the cosmic order. The Kukeri festival has had a strong hold over Bulgarian cultural life since the fifth century, surviving the Ottomans, Christendom and communist rule. Every winter, hundreds of terrifying figures prowl snow-capped forests and village centers in search of evil spirits to dispel from their communities.

As Dimitar’s decades-long fight against enviousness, laziness and prejudice to keep the kukeri tradition in his region alive proves successful, it turns out to have really been a journey towards finding and maintaining his own inner peace all along. Told through a series of interviews and slices-of-life ranging from the tragic to the euphotic is a story of love and resilience.

Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.

Each live appearance of HEILUNG is a spectacular affair, where the lines blur between musical performance, ancient pagan rituals, past, and present. The Danish band found a fitting name for their opulent stage set and huge production: amplified history. Their viewers use other words such as "amazing, mind-blowing, goose bumps, unforgettable". As a tribute to the overwhelming demand of their fast- growing host of supporters, HEILUNG released a complete live show under the banner of 'LIFA', which was filmed at Castlefest 2017.

A documentary about lamentation songs of Bulgarian funeral rites.