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Since 1990 Dr. Francis Lu and Brother David Steindl-Rast have led annual 5- or 7-day film seminars at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.  Films on a particular spiritual theme (such as Healing Through Gratefulness) are shown and discussed, focusing on the participants’ personal experiences. “Imagining the Feminine in Film”
was the theme in 2010.

All About My Mother DVD jacket

The Feminine has been imagined in film by screenwriters, directors, actors/actresses and the film audience since the beginning of the cinema. In this seven-day seminar, we will view and discuss about 15 feature films that evoke in the participants—both male and female– aspects of the Feminine: heroine, caregiver, waif, lover, anima among others. The Feminine will be revealed in the play of consciousness seen in film, theater, country singing, radio and television shows among other settings. The seminar will explore female relationships with men and women, gender roles and gender identity through active imagination stimulated by the films and discussion.

Films shown in this order:

Queen Christina (1933)
King of Masks (1996)
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Charulata (1964)
Love and the Goddess (1988) From Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth: Joseph Campbell in conversation with Bill Moyers on the Goddess (30’ from Episode 5)
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Children of Paradise (1945)
All About Eve (1950)
All About My Mother (1999)
Volver (2006)
A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Tootsie (1982)
The African Queen (1951)


Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB
Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB

Brother David Steindl-Rast — author, scholar, and Benedictine monk — is beloved the world over for his enduring message about gratefulness as the true source of lasting happiness. Known to many as the “grandfather of gratitude,” Br. David has been a source of inspiration and spiritual friendship to countless leaders and luminaries around the world including Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Merton, and more. He has been one of the most important figures in the modern interfaith dialogue movement, and has taught with thought-leaders such as Eckhart Tolle, Jack Kornfield, and Roshi Joan Halifax. His wisdom has been featured in recent interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Krista Tippett, and Tami Simon and his TED talk has been viewed almost 10,000,000 times. Learn more about Br. David here.

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Br. David Steindl-Rast