Triptych

Each film in the “Co-Creators” triptych culminates in a transformative experience. The three main characters undergo different types of awareness expansion (Mind, Soul, Body) through different perceptions (See, Hear, Feel). The films are united by each character’s realization of their power as a co-creator of life on this planet.


Invisible Mountains (See) (left panel) (Mind)
Filmed in 2001, 2002, completed 2003, available on Netflix.com

An art school dropout resists finishing a commissioned painting, and is led by helping Spirits to resolve his will to create. The film employs an innovative technique of overlaying 2-D animation on top of live-action footage to create “paintings” that illustrate the artist’s sometimes hallucinatory experience of reality. Featuring Shane Callahan as the young artist, a strong cast of comic supporting actors, a haunting “Nick Drake meets Jeff Buckley” score, and Reba, the largest red-tailed hawk in captivity.


The King’s Dominion (Hear) (right panel) (Soul)

The rising son of a suburban housing development magnate who moonlights as professional lacrosse player attempts to seize a prime piece of land, and is forced by nature Spirits to confront his own desire to conquer. The anthropomorphized world is created using a combination of hyper slow-motion and stop-motion animation to reflect the character’s growing awareness of the surrounding plant and animal kingdoms. The film unfolds over four seasons to a virile hip-hop soundtrack that struggles to keep pace with the young developer’s desire to subjugate everything.


The Birth of Power (Feel) (center panel) (Body)

An unwed doctor becomes pregnant and wrestles with the choice to keep her child, while being led by guardian Spirits to awaken to her own power as a healer. The world of the gestating child is created using photographic techniques pioneered by Lennart Nilsson (”The Miracle of Life”) and anatomical 3D animations that reveal energetic bodies, as seen in the work of visionary artist Alex Grey (”Tool”, “Nirvana”). The film begins with the conception and climaxes in the actual birth of the actress’ child.