Calling All Earthlings, a documentary by Jonathan Berman, explores one of the first UFO cults, led by George Van Tassel, a one-time Howard Hughes confidante. Van Tassel combines alien technology with Tesla science to build a rejuvenation machine and mid-century dome called The Integratron. Van Tassel claimed to have combined extraterrestrial guidance with the work of inventor/physicist Nikola Tesla and other alternative scientists, to build an electromagnetic time machine he dubbed “The Integratron.” Was he deluded? Or could the dome actually break through the boundaries of space, time, and energy? FBI agents try to halt the growing army of outliers who gather in the desert to create a threatening reality on the edge of the midcentury American Dream. An empathetic enquiry into an archetypical countercultural movement, the story is told by relatives, neighbors, skeptics, believers, scientists, healers, artists, and historians, including Dr. Kevin Starr, the preeminent historian of California; Eric Burdon, musician and area resident, and futurists JJ and Desiree Hurtak.
Jonathan Berman’s documentaries explore third places, those beyond home or work. Previous work includes The Shvitz (The Steambath) and Commune.
Calling All Earthlings will open in New York at Maysles Cinema on August 1 and available on VOD on August 28.
Calling All Earthlings is the true story of Howard Hughes, the Postwar avant-garde, and a mad genius named George who took off from the California desert in a flying saucer.
In 1947, George Van Tassel, a Hughes employee and confidante, suddenly quits working for his mentor and ditches the straight life, moving deep into the Mojave Desert where he and his family sleep under a rock. He leaves behind a tattered Los Angeles in the grips of postwar paranoia, opting for the quietude of the Joshua Tree area. It is during an August 1953 full moon that Van Tassel has an encounter with extraterrestrials, who give him the information to build a rejuvenation machine he dubs “The Integratron.”
Van Tassel believes he has been chosen by these extraterrestrial visitors, led by Solganda (who “speaks” to him with a voice not unlike that of actor Ronald Coleman) to build a massive experimental dome that will open a hole in time and space. The groovy iconoclast and charismatic leader’s received blueprints from Solganda are soon combined with the work of Nikolai Tesla and other alternative scientists.
Long before the ‘X-Files,’ and the internet, it was the threat of nuclear bombs and stifling social conformity that drew artists, inventors, eccentrics and postwar seekers to the desert to experiment with alternate lifestyles and futures. They join other do-it-yourself inhabitants of the “jack-rabbit shacks,” the five acres that the government gave to citizens through the Small Tract Act of 1938.
Van Tassel, a pilot and self-taught inventor, becomes a local, and lands as one of the first gurus of alien contact culture. Using ‘outsider science” and rugged charm, Van Tassel pursues his dream of combining science and spirit to create a new utopia. The Integratron would not only solve the issue of aging and the attendant loss of seasoned wisdom but would also act as a source of unlimited power for the planet
In the 1950’s, George Van Tassel devises the Interplanetary Spacecraft Conventions as a way to fund the dome and bring attention to his transformative and rabidly anti-militaristic stance. Is he crazy or could The Integratron really work?
Rich Los Angeles playboys help fund the work (seeking rejuvenation, of course) and they fly into his airfield nearby, including his old boss, one Mr. Howard Robard Hughes. Beyond any vanities, Hughes’ concern for contamination bonds him to the anti-nuclear Van Tassel and he adds money to the project.
With his can-do neighbors, including an early disciple of Yogananda, Van Tassel actually builds his dome and prepares to turn it on. People flock to the desert to join in what quickly becomes an alien-guided, peace-loving, revolutionary movement. Questionable science, secret agents, and an army of eccentrics collide on the edge of the American Dream to try to further – or halt – this new reality.
It looks promising but there is a hiccup: the Integratron stands on the border of one of the largest military bases in the world, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, commonly known as Twentynine Palms. It is balanced by its other neighbor, an enigmatic boulder, Giant Rock, that was once revered by American Indians and has had its own embattled history.
Meanwhile, the dome’s workings are mysterious – some of the electro-magnetic processes actually bear merit, however they must be “phased” by the Venusians, as one subject suggests: “otherwise Southern California could be blown off the map.” Nearing completion, Van Tassel’s tale and the Integratron meets an unexpected, twisted end.
The magical ‘workings’ of the dome emerge in an unexpected way: for some participants in the film it is a simple opportunity for friendship and mentorship, for another it’s a global plan to colonize space, for others it’s a site-specific zone for art and culture. ‘Calling All Earthlings’ tells the story through their eyes –the current and past residents of the Joshua Tree area — including singer Eric Burdon, medicine woman Valerie Brightheart, Ernest Siva, historian and elder of the Morongo Indians, L.A. Free Press publisher Art Kunkin, and the current “Stewards of the Dome, the Karl sisters, who now own the property. Rounding out the story are esteemed California historian Dr. Kevin Starr, skeptical astronomer Bob Berman, and legendary “Stargate” participant Dr. J.J. Hurtak.
Featuring a celestial score by Knitting Factory stalwart Elliott Sharp, desert ambient wizard Clive Wright, and other co-conspirators including the legendary Harmonia and Queens of the Stone Age’s Dave Catching, the project is an enigmatic look at the boundary-breaking culture of Joshua Tree and its eccentric residents, still waiting for their spaceship.Calling All Earthlings
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Jonathan Berman’s Documentary CALLING ALL EARTHLINGS Explores One of the First UFO Cults [Trailer]
Calling All Earthlings, a documentary by Jonathan Berman, explores one of the first UFO cults, led by George Van Tassel, a one-time Howard Hughes confidante. Van Tassel combines alien technology with Tesla science to build a rejuvenation machine and mid-century dome called The Integratron. Van Tassel claimed to have combined extraterrestrial guidance with the work of inventor/physicist Nikola Tesla and other alternative scientists, to build an electromagnetic time machine he dubbed “The Integratron.” Was he deluded? Or could the dome actually break through the boundaries of space, time, and energy? FBI agents try to halt the growing army of outliers who gather in the desert to create a threatening reality on the edge of the midcentury American Dream. An empathetic enquiry into an archetypical countercultural movement, the story is told by relatives, neighbors, skeptics, believers, scientists, healers, artists, and historians, including Dr. Kevin Starr, the preeminent historian of California; Eric Burdon, musician and area resident, and futurists JJ and Desiree Hurtak.
Jonathan Berman’s documentaries explore third places, those beyond home or work. Previous work includes The Shvitz (The Steambath) and Commune.
Calling All Earthlings will open in New York at Maysles Cinema on August 1 and available on VOD on August 28.
Calling All Earthlings is the true story of Howard Hughes, the Postwar avant-garde, and a mad genius named George who took off from the California desert in a flying saucer.
In 1947, George Van Tassel, a Hughes employee and confidante, suddenly quits working for his mentor and ditches the straight life, moving deep into the Mojave Desert where he and his family sleep under a rock. He leaves behind a tattered Los Angeles in the grips of postwar paranoia, opting for the quietude of the Joshua Tree area. It is during an August 1953 full moon that Van Tassel has an encounter with extraterrestrials, who give him the information to build a rejuvenation machine he dubs “The Integratron.”
Van Tassel believes he has been chosen by these extraterrestrial visitors, led by Solganda (who “speaks” to him with a voice not unlike that of actor Ronald Coleman) to build a massive experimental dome that will open a hole in time and space. The groovy iconoclast and charismatic leader’s received blueprints from Solganda are soon combined with the work of Nikolai Tesla and other alternative scientists.
Long before the ‘X-Files,’ and the internet, it was the threat of nuclear bombs and stifling social conformity that drew artists, inventors, eccentrics and postwar seekers to the desert to experiment with alternate lifestyles and futures. They join other do-it-yourself inhabitants of the “jack-rabbit shacks,” the five acres that the government gave to citizens through the Small Tract Act of 1938.
Van Tassel, a pilot and self-taught inventor, becomes a local, and lands as one of the first gurus of alien contact culture. Using ‘outsider science” and rugged charm, Van Tassel pursues his dream of combining science and spirit to create a new utopia. The Integratron would not only solve the issue of aging and the attendant loss of seasoned wisdom but would also act as a source of unlimited power for the planet
In the 1950’s, George Van Tassel devises the Interplanetary Spacecraft Conventions as a way to fund the dome and bring attention to his transformative and rabidly anti-militaristic stance. Is he crazy or could The Integratron really work?
Rich Los Angeles playboys help fund the work (seeking rejuvenation, of course) and they fly into his airfield nearby, including his old boss, one Mr. Howard Robard Hughes. Beyond any vanities, Hughes’ concern for contamination bonds him to the anti-nuclear Van Tassel and he adds money to the project.
With his can-do neighbors, including an early disciple of Yogananda, Van Tassel actually builds his dome and prepares to turn it on. People flock to the desert to join in what quickly becomes an alien-guided, peace-loving, revolutionary movement. Questionable science, secret agents, and an army of eccentrics collide on the edge of the American Dream to try to further – or halt – this new reality.
It looks promising but there is a hiccup: the Integratron stands on the border of one of the largest military bases in the world, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, commonly known as Twentynine Palms. It is balanced by its other neighbor, an enigmatic boulder, Giant Rock, that was once revered by American Indians and has had its own embattled history.
Meanwhile, the dome’s workings are mysterious – some of the electro-magnetic processes actually bear merit, however they must be “phased” by the Venusians, as one subject suggests: “otherwise Southern California could be blown off the map.” Nearing completion, Van Tassel’s tale and the Integratron meets an unexpected, twisted end.
The magical ‘workings’ of the dome emerge in an unexpected way: for some participants in the film it is a simple opportunity for friendship and mentorship, for another it’s a global plan to colonize space, for others it’s a site-specific zone for art and culture. ‘Calling All Earthlings’ tells the story through their eyes –the current and past residents of the Joshua Tree area — including singer Eric Burdon, medicine woman Valerie Brightheart, Ernest Siva, historian and elder of the Morongo Indians, L.A. Free Press publisher Art Kunkin, and the current “Stewards of the Dome, the Karl sisters, who now own the property. Rounding out the story are esteemed California historian Dr. Kevin Starr, skeptical astronomer Bob Berman, and legendary “Stargate” participant Dr. J.J. Hurtak.
Featuring a celestial score by Knitting Factory stalwart Elliott Sharp, desert ambient wizard Clive Wright, and other co-conspirators including the legendary Harmonia and Queens of the Stone Age’s Dave Catching, the project is an enigmatic look at the boundary-breaking culture of Joshua Tree and its eccentric residents, still waiting for their spaceship.
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2018 Illuminate Film Festival Awards: STAY HUMAN And THE PUSH Tie to Win Audience Award
[caption id="attachment_29849" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
The Push by Grant Korgan[/caption]
Michael Franti’s Stay Human tied with Grant Korgan’s The Push for the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 5th annual ILLUMINATE Film Festival, in Sedona.
Stay Human takes viewers on a journey through music and the stories of some of the most inspiring individuals on the planet chronicling Franti’s experiences with people that he’s met on his travels who have chosen to overcome cynicism with optimism, hope, tenacity, music, and love. Directed by Grant Korgan and Brian Niles, The Push tells Korgan’s inspiring tale of triumph after becoming paralyzed in a snowmobile accident where he focused on 120 percent recovery to do the impossible: push his way over nearly 100 miles in Antarctica, spinal cord injury and all.
Franti also was the recipient of the festival’s inaugural Voice for Humanity Award. “It’s important to be able to see each other as human beings above all else,” noted Franti. “I believe that there is no one in the world that you wouldn’t love if you heard their story.”
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Black Star, directed by Akira Chan. This short documentary explores art as a healing modality to stop the VICIOUS cycle of addiction.
In a feature competition section consisting of seven world and US Premieres, You Are What You Act took home the coveted 2018 Debut Feature Competition Jury Prize. The documentary proposes a revolutionary new health trend by asking what influences us more: our minds or our bodies. Director Albert Nerenberg and other leading psychologists in embodied cognition demonstrate fascinating psychological exercises with amazing results. Honorable Mentions were also given to Calling All Earthlings for unearthing a hidden truth and to From Shock to Awe for social impact.
Living Music, directed by Libby Spears, took home the jury prize in the Debut Short Film Competition. When a promising young musician’s career is almost cut short after he loses his voice to a rare medical condition called spasmodic dysphonia, he goes on a rehabilitative journey of artistic experimentation. Vision: Seeing is Believing received an Honorable Mention for cinematography.
From Shock to Awe captured the inaugural Mangurama Award for Conscious Documentary Storytelling. Including a $5000 cash prize, the Mangurama Award goes to to the most transformative non-fiction film that exhibits a strong story arc, compelling subjects and high production value. From Shock to Awe follows THE JOURNEY of returned U.S. combat veterans as they abandon pharmaceutical drugs to seek relief through the controversial, mind-expanding world of cannabis, ayahuasca and MDMA, known as ecstasy.
Documentary 3100: Run And Become captured the Director’s Choice Award. This sweeping examination of running’s spiritual nature, follows long-distance runners in Arizona, Finland, New York City, the Japanese highlands and Africa’s Kalahari Desert.
The ILLUMINATE Film Festival Impact Award went to Secret Ingredients by Amy Hart and Jeffrey Smith, which highlights through both personal stories and scientific input the role that pesticides and GMO’s are playing in compromising health on a large scale.
2018 ILLUMINATE Film Festival Award Winners
Debut Feature Competition Jury Prize Winner You Are What You Act Honorable Mention for Social Impact From Shock to Awe Honorable Mention for Unearthing a Hidden Truth Calling All Earthlings Debut Short Film Competition Jury Prize Winner Living Music Honorable Mention for Cinematography VISION: Seeing is Believing Mangurama Award for Conscious Documentary Storytelling From Shock to Awe Audience Award for Best Feature Winner (TIE)* The Push Stay Human Audience Award for Best Short Film Winner Black Star Runner-Up Living Music Director’s Choice Award Winner 3100: Run and Become Impact Award Winner Secret Ingredients