Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Movies


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published Friday, January 6, 2006 at 12:00 AM

E-mail E-mail article      Print Print view      Share Share

Movies

Seeking to remind filmgoers of our shared humanity

"We were actually reading the instruction book for the camera while conducting our interviews," says Ward M. Powers, very novice director...

Special to The Seattle Times

"We were actually reading the instruction book for the camera while conducting our interviews," says Ward M. Powers, very novice director of "One: The Movie."

Powers is not the first amateur filmmaker to fumble his way through a documentary. But his accommodating interviewees include some of the leading spiritual figures, writers and teachers of our time, among them Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, a sheikh of the Naqshandi Sufi Order; Thich Nhat Hahn, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and author of "The Miracle of Mindfulness"; and Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk who instructs in the contemplative prayer tradition.

Powers, a 48-year-old Michigan trial lawyer, and his wife, Diane, a community activist, were reflecting in 2002 on the divisiveness of the world after Sept. 11.

Powers says he awoke one day with a strong impulse to make a film about that which unites humanity.

"I was comfortable with my law practice and family," says Powers, a father of three. "I wondered, should I just duck my head while everything is fragmenting? My wife and I asked ourselves, how can we help remind the world that it is really one?"

Diane signed on as co-producer, and Powers enlisted his equally inexperienced cousin, Chad Munce, and best friend, Scott Carter. They bought a video camera and learned on the job.

Powers says his first notion was to compile a list of life's big questions — about destiny, our purpose in the universe, death — and conduct street interviews with ordinary people.

Director interview: Ward M. Powers


"One" astutely incorporates some of that material, statements ranging from casual cruelty to jazzy illumination. But Powers quickly realized that approach would not be sufficient and contacted Keating, Deepak Chopra, Ram Dass and numerous other spiritual leaders, most of whom agreed to speak on camera.

One who didn't, philosopher-psychologist Ken Wilber, a pioneer in integrating mysticism and science, nevertheless helped Powers set the film's tone.

"He gave us a butt-kicking," Powers says. "He got us past a simplistic vision of oneness and said most people see the world in dualistic terms — 'me' and the 'other,' or 'me' in this world, 'God' somewhere else.

"He said, find the voice in each person's head in the audience and go one above it. That helped us give the film its evolving, spiral shape, gradually leading from dualism to compassion to living in the present moment to the meaning of life to who is God to oneness."

"One: The Movie" is currently without a distributor; its fortunes in Seattle will be key to its future.

Powers will be at "One's" opening tonight, though he previously witnessed a Seattle audience's strong reaction at a screening and was stirred by the response to a deeply moving statement by Keating.

"I could see a collective gasp," says Powers. "If this film only plays one night here and there, so be it. Whatever happens is better than if it had never happened."

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com

E-mail E-mail article      Print Print view      Share Share

More Movies

NEW - 7:00 PM
10 things to love about 'Mad Men'

Demi Moore's Twitter account part of suicide help

Sandra Bullock still poised for successful future

Theater owners say thanks to hitmaker Bruckheimer

Q&A: Melissa Rosenberg, 'Twilight' screenwriter

More Movies headlines...

advertising


Get home delivery today!

Video

Advertising

AP Video

Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech

Marketplace

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

nwautos

Porsche's 911 hybrid uses flywheel to store electricity; new Mustang gets 31 mpgnew
Porsche 911 GT3 RS hybrid (Associated Press) Porsche flywheel Porsche debuted its 911 GT3 RS hybrid, which uses a flywheel rather than batteries to st...
Post a comment

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 

Most viewed imagesMore

Advertising