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Reactions and Responses to Maangamizi – The Ancient One
"I saw the film with some friends last weekend and loved it. We just wanted to forward our thanks and congratulations to everyone who made such an amazing film possible. We thank you for creating something that speaks to our higher selves."
Cathy LePard (TV Producer) , Hynndie Wali (TV Producer), and Marilyn Holmes, LA
"Yes, the ancestors definitely called me to come and see the movie... all the way from DC! …I was so moved because I had given birth that night, right there on that screen. I felt the pain and the love and the spirits all in that room, while we were all watching...and they too, were just watching. My breath was taken away and I could not help crying in so many parts of the movie. Because that was me, too, on the screen. I am still moved, it brings tears to my eyes right now, thinking of all the events that had taken place.... It touched so many sore spots, and yet it gave me space to heal. Those who do not want to see this movie are only blind to what is true and real. (and probably need a lot of healing!)"
Lorran Garrison (Congressional Aide), Washington D.C.
"The film moved me and inspired me the way I am rarely moved by a piece of art It evoked powerful feelings and memories from my own childhood and my own quest for Self-healing and for inner and outer freedom, and memories from the journey of many co-travelers, friends I met along the way (including an experience of working in "behaviorist" mental hospital in Jerusalem. I could see in Maangamizi the exile, slavery and alienation from their own spiritual root of the African people, but also of my own Jewish culture that allowed itself to forget the hidden mystical treasure underneath all its rules and rituals, and of many other communities that were cut in different ways from the wholeness and beauty of their spiritual tradition. It reminded me also of the many individual souls who are in inner exile and are knowingly and unknowingly searching their way back to the spirit. …for me Maangamizi has been about daring to break through the many limitations of our rational mind and the modern culture which promote the world of the five senses as the only existing "reality" and daring to trust the power and the benevolence of the spirit to join Her to a healing dance. Thank you for daring to stand and walk in your truth and for bringing together this uplifting refined piece of sacred art."
Nehemiah Bar-Yehuda, New York
"Maangamizi – The Ancient One….holds the answer for people like me…I have been on a journey of self-discovery for the past year and a half. I have done extensive traveling and attended many churches in search of…I don't know what! I feel restless and incomplete …the film made me realize that forgiveness, faith, love compassion and strength to face your past and fears will make life worth living."
Vanessa Parker, New York
"Maangamizi moved me to tears! I had a hard time not to let go and just let the tears take over… They streamed down my face but I did not allow them to wrack my body as they threatened ... I fought hard as I viewed the film to stay contained, to hold them in that space between the eyes... .the overwhelming beauty of your locations, the overwhelming Spiritual qualities and the glorious faces of its people touched me in a place so deep, I thought surely I have lived there in a previous lifetime. I am a German Jew who survived the Holocaust, and its after effects by disconnecting... disconnecting from others and of course more important, disconnecting from myself; I did a noble job of making my life work by living in my head. While watching your film, MY Ancestors, my Ancient Ones... spoke to me... quite clearly; the experience of being in such direct contact with them carried me to a transcendent place of Spirit. I am a changed person because of it."
Dorothee Bart, San Francisco
"Thank you for coming to Eindhoven and taking your precious time to attend to the viewers. Maangamizi moved me deeply. The process through which both women go through, facing their own pains, that and the healing process with the help of their spiritual guide moved me. My recognition in the film is in going from hiding to openness, which involves lots of pain and beauty together. After my divorce 11 years ago, I left Israel were I lived for 11 years and came back with two children ages 18 and 15 during the Gulf War. I am slowly coming to myself and realizing who I am. Through spiritual practices I have been able to see my horrible past experiences which have subconsciously shaped my personality and to face them without further interpretation was such a relief. The strongest part in the movie is forgiveness. This is the true process of melting and making room for Love as it guides us in life."
Suzette Stenfert Kroese, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
"This film was one of the most powerful and breathtakingly beautiful films that I have ever seen. It is a magnificent work of art that heals and empowers. It is a must see for all serious film goers."
Judith Freeman, New York
"I was incredibly moved by this film and would like to wish you all the best in gaining a wider distribution for this film. It SHOULD be seen by a large audience!".
Jennifer Pfeifer, Minneapolis
"I was deeply touched by the context of the film….The Spirits moved me. I was taken back in history to a time period that I had long forgotten. My soul cried out! It's so true, we have forgotten our gifts. We are taught, operating in the spiritual realm is equivalent to "Witch Craft." Not understanding that our gifts dwell in the realm of the unseen!"
Lawanda F. King, San Francisco
"I was very touched by the film. It struck a chord in the areas of mother-daughter and mother–son relationships. We carry so much pain from our parents' lives and their parents' lives to our children. In order to heal, we must break the chain through forgiveness and compassion. This film addressed both of these issues for me. Thank you for this magnificent film."
Nadira Belcher, Culver City, CA
"At a time when the emergence of the feminine seems to be required for our evolution and survival on the planet, Maangamizi provides a concrete example of the ways that happens—women coming together to reclaim, revive and re-member one another. Thank you for a brilliant film."
Marcia Beauchamp, Mill Valley, CA
"I was at your screening of Maangamizi on Thursday here in Madison and was really blown away. It was without a doubt one of the best movies I've seen in a while—such an unusual story—I know that it could have been filmed in a much less successful way than you did it. You succeeded in telling the story in a very effective way and it was very moving. The acting was wonderful. I really have not seen a film quite like this before. I wish you the best of luck in its distribution."
John Hackney, Madison, Wisconsin
"Maangamizi was received well by our public. It is quite a German subject, and interesting for German people."
Wolfgang Mundt, Osnabrück, Germany
"Maangamizi - The Ancient One…opens the minds and hearts of this world to the spirit world of our ancestors..the feminine counterparts of Maangamizi are countless in the world's multi-cultural mythic traditions. In the ancient African Kmt/Egypt ritual cosmos her wrathful side was revered as SEKMET…her merciful side was revered as Maat…In the Yoruba Ritual cosmos she is OYA, in the Orphic/Greek Ritual cosmos she is known as NYX…in the Canaan/Kabalist ritual cosmos she is known as ASTARTE/ASHARA …in the Sufi Ritual Cosmos she is known as AL-UZZA. Humanity has always venerated Maangamizi in one manifested cultural attribute or another—as the Ancient Spirit World Mother of Mortal Death…Karmic Retribution and Ancestral Resurrection."
Brother Jamaal, New York
"…Maangamizi is one of the most powerful films this organization has had the pleasure of viewing."
Dorothy Karvi, Program Manager
Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc.
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