The Source Family (2012)

Directed by

Jodi Wille, Maria Demopoulos

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 38m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.0 of 10 from 32 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary tells the story of a 1970s spiritual commune and its leader, Father Yod. It uses home movies, photos, and interviews from former members to show how they lived and what they believed.

archivalimmersiveearnestintimatenostalgiccuriousretrospectiveunvarnished

What happens

The Source Family is a 2012 feature documentary film directed by Jodi Wille and Maria Demopoulos which recounts the story of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13 and the Source Family. Much material was gleaned from the group's official documentarian and one of Father Yod's wives, Isis Aquarian. Her archives provided photos, diary, film, cassette tapes of Yod's morning class, lost music tapes, graphics; along with input interviews of Source family members and people who knew Jim Baker (Father Yod) and / or went to the Source Restaurant. The film premiered in competition at South by Southwest Film Festival 2012 and screened at festivals Silverdocs, Seattle International Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival, with special screenings at True/False Festival "Boonedawdle" and Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival "Doc Soup" series. In May 2013, the film was released theatrically, premiering at IFC Center in New York City, where its run was extended for over a month. The film screened in 60 cities and had extended runs in Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, and Nashville. It is distributed by Drag City and Gravitas Ventures. The Source Family provides a view of the group through their own archival photos, home movies, audio recordings, and contemporary interviews with members of the family. Serving as a highly personal, insider's guide to the counter-culture movement of the early 70s, the film is inspired by the cult-classic book The Source: The Story of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13, and The Source Family (Process Media), which was written by Isis Aquarian and Electricity Aquarian and edited by director Jodi Wille. The documentary features music by Yo Ha Wa, the band composed of members of the Source Family with Father Yod as lead singer. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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