The screening that I attended was Peter Friedman and Roger Manley's film "Mana: Beyond Belief", which included a question and answer session with Manley. The film was a 92 minute documentary exploring the concept of "power objects", or objects that possess "mana", a Maori concept meaning intrinsic holy power. These objects could be anything- from a shrine atop a boulder balanced precariously on a cliff, to an enormous cobbled-together sculpture maid of various junk. The film followed several of these objects and events that possessed this energy in separate unconnected segments. While it most mostly strictly documentary in nature, it did posses two segments with elements of fantasy: one used an actor showing off preserved human body parts that he claimed were from famous individuals, and the last segment showed the artist/owner of a large sculptural installation being sent into space by his creation through the use of CGI.
I felt that the film very intelligently explored the confluence of religion, culture, and suspension of disbelief that leads some objects and ceremonies to be imbued with a sense of power. It is humans who believe in these things, and by believing in them make them powerful. The film's use of something as seemingly frivolous as a massive celebration in honor of Elvis' birthday and something as somber as the Shroud of Turin might at first seem unrelated, but are interrelated in the way they unite those who hold them dear. The footage itself was wonderfully shot- several of the images were absolutely breathtaking. At the Q&A with Manley, I asked him about his education and how it had led to his current career path. He actually earned a degree in English, which he thought was ironic since he now runs an art museum and creates films and other art.
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