A Glastonbury Experience - The Film

With 2012 seeing an ever-growing interest in Glastonbury worldwide, Glastonbury Pilgrim Reception Centre in partnership with local film-maker Dharam Barrett, are producing a documentary film about the town and told by the community itself. It's purpose is to capture the aspects of Glastonbury and assist visitors, pilgrims and enthusiasts in learning about this remarkable place that draws people from all over the world.

Following the success of Glastonbury 2012: Unity through Diversity, we felt it was time for the story of ‘A Glastonbury Experience’ to be voiced and filmed by the people who live here.  We have been working on this project for over two years but we need your help to complete it.  Much of the footage is already ‘in the can’ but we need funding and your word-of-mouth to gain more support so we can complete the project.

Q. Will the film get made even if you don't reach your target?

A. Yes. If we don't meet our target we will continue our fundraising and aim to make the film to the best standard possible regardless on a skeleton budget. After all the story still needs to be told and several years of donated work have already gone into the realisation of this project and will not be wasted, it might just take a little longer!

It's not all about the money...

It really isn't. Whether you can support us financially or not, you can help us by spreading the word via Facebook, Twitter, websites and blogs, offering a skill exchange or any other way you feel you can help us. This film is about a movement and a campaign and you can help make it happen. Together, we can do for the understanding of the personal journey and the process of transformation that ‘What the Bleep Do We Know?’ did for the power of positive thinking.

INTERESTED? Read more…

Glastonbury is an extraordinary town with many facets. Since 1970, it has been known for its music festival and is sometimes seen by tourists as an interesting Somerset market town with a ruined abbey, 'a strange pointy hill' (Glastonbury Tor, recently predominant in the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony) and a high street full of unusual shops and colourful characters.

But there is another aspect of Glastonbury that is also widely recognised. The town has the unique reputation of being hailed by St. Patrick as the 'holiest earth in England' with a reputation as a place of pilgrimage for people of all beliefs, offering unique spiritual energies that draws people from many different walks and paths of life, from all over the world.

Its potpourri of diverse beliefs has seen Glastonbury emerge as a place that integrates and encourages diversity; this is reflected in the wide and varied cultural experiences, activities and cheerful personalities that can be found in this vibrant, captivating place. There are more than 70 different faiths actively upheld in the town, over 300 therapists and healers and an extraordinary number of authors, musicians, artists and talented and creative people of every kind.

Behind all this multiplicity of stories lies a place set in a unique landscape that potentially has the power to change people’s lives through healing, spiritual transformation and by raising their level of consciousness. Thousands of visitors come every year and often describe in glowing terms how their visit here has transformed their understanding. To others though, it can appear to be a very confusing and sometimes shallow place with its depths hidden and its treasures hard to find.

What will you see in the film?

'A Glastonbury Experience' will present the many aspects of Glastonbury, but also reflecting on the fact that all these aspects are multi-layered facets of one unique and extraordinary small town that draws crowds from far and wide.

In interviews with inhabitants and experts in their field, who live and work in Glastonbury, we explain the concept of the town as having an otherworldy soul presence that is said to draw people to Glastonbury. We will also consider the belief that once here, that particular force supports them, helping them along the often rocky road of spiritual transformation.Though this experience is not unique to Glastonbury and echoes the human journey globally, there is a belief amongst many that in Glastonbury, a place of remarkable liminality, it is greatly amplified and often mirrored.  

This film is a first of its kind delving deep into all the aspects from the landscape and history, its people and pilgrims, visitors past and present and the strange phenomena that keeps people tied here or sends them running. It will also be looking at the differing belief groups and the diverse communities that contribute to the population of the town, the extraordinary events and celebrations they conduct and how this small town has a huge potential for a world-wide impact as a model for harmonious living in a global 'family'.

Why this film needs to be made.

Numerous books and short films have been made about Glastonbury in the past, but this one is unique in offering an overall comprehensive look at all aspects of the town. We will do this by not dictating information but offering ideas to further your own research from the mouths of some of those who live and work here with an invitation to experience it for yourself.

It will explore how Glastonbury can be seen as a unique centre in which the burgeoning new approach to life is to be found. Interest in the town is growing in the academic world and we believe that there is potentially a wide audience of those interested in this emerging new way of living.

It will support the businesses and practices of those living and working in the town, including the art, restoration and heritage projects that are numerous in number and which need support and recognition.

Glastonbury is on the verge of a huge explosion of interest with the upcoming Hollywood movie based on the life of Joseph of Arimathea - ‘Glastonbury: The Isle of Light’ - being made by Galatia films and launching in 2013/2014. Our documentary will be taking into account the other myths, legends, history and phenomena that surround the Isle and will provide a fantastic resource for those whose interest has been piqued and to act as an entertaining and educational preamble to the release of the film.

'A Glastonbury Experience' will be made available internationally to enthusiasts, educators and pilgrims from all over the world. It will be handled and distributed by Glastonbury Pilgrim Reception Centre and made available online through downloading and Amazon. It will also be subtitled into various languages and therefore not exclusive to the English-speaking world.

What do we need?

There has been an enormous amount of support from organisations and individuals for the film and its message, ensuring we have a solid foundation for wide distribution. A lot of the groundwork has been done and now we need to raise the money to hire a local professional production crew and resources to finish filming and editing the film to a high standard.

We hope to raise £17,500 in this campaign, that’s $27,500 -  a modest sum by crowd-funding and film-making standards. And you can give more (or less) if you want. Every donation helps us. If we exceed our goal, any additional cash will first go into enhancing the production and distribution of this important film - enabling us to make it better, and get it seen by more people. If there is still a surplus, and this would be wonderful, we will use it to support community projects in Glastonbury that are enhancing the work that is being done here.

 If we don't meet our target we will continue our fundraising and aim to make the film to the best standard possible regardless on a skeleton budget. After all the story still needs to be told and several years of donated work have already gone into the realisation of this project and will not be wasted, it might just take a little longer!

Your contribution will help to produce a film with a very positive message and a film that will contribute to Glastonbury and the British Tourism Industry.

Donating

We are happy for any donation you can afford to give and give you our heartfelt thanks! We know the site is featured in dollars. We know it's frustrating if you're in the UK, but unfortunately almost all of the funding platforms only display amounts in dollars. However, if you choose to donate from the UK it is automatically converted to the sterling equivalent, so please don't let it put you off.

Conversion rate (variable due to exchange rate)

$5 = £3 / $10 = £7 / $20 = £13 / $50 = £32 / $75 = £48 /$100 = £64
$250 = £160 / $500 = £ 319 / $1000 = £637 / $ 5000 = £3185 / Word of mouth = Priceless

Who are we?

This is a community partnership set up to include the many aspects of Glastonbury to promote the film and other artistic community projects.

Producer and Director: DHARAM BARRETT.

A Director with over thirteen years experience in television, my films have covered everything from the impact of cancer, to the power of sport to transform lives, and the realities of living in a changing world. I've made films for ITV for over 10 years. My focus is on using film to create meaningful change in lives and attitudes and to inform, educate and inspire.

I have been working on this film for two years now, answering a call for the depth of information and experience generated by this town to be weaved together in one documentary film accessible by all. It’s been a labour of love and dedication, and now the idea has found its place and audience.

Supporting Body: GLASTONBURY PILGRIM RECEPTION CENTRE

In 2008, Glastonbury Pilgrim Reception Centre (The PRC), a not-for-profit organisation supportive of all faiths, beliefs and paths, first opened its doors. Since those early beginnings, the PRC has gone from strength to strength.

Its purpose is to actively help in building Glastonbury as a centre of pilgrimage for people of all faiths and beliefs and achieves this by providing a range of support and information services to visitors, residents, researchers and local community projects. For more information, please visit: www.glastonbury-pilgrim.co.uk.

Executive Producer:  MORGANA WEST

A Founding Member and Manager of the PRC. I moved to Glastonbury from Yorkshire in 1999 and since then, have felt a strong call to serve the Glastonbury community and its visitors. I have initiated and assisted in many community focussed projects since my early teens on a broad range of social topics, all underpinned by my internal voice that tells me "we might all be on different paths, but we are on the same mountain and heading for the same summit." 

'A Glastonbury Experience', as a process of personal growth and transformation, is a concept dear to my own heart and this is a story that wants to be told. It is an honour to now be supporting and working with this team and I look forward to celebrating the culmination of this exciting project with everyone involved and those of you yet to join us. 

Production Assistant: TIM BIOT

Filming, photography, translation, interviews and editing support. I'm a spiritual teacher & healer, photographer and writer. Originally from Belgium, I have lived on 4 continents and traveled in about 50 countries before settling down in Glastonbury.

Social Media Manager: EDGAR DANMER

For the last ten years I have been immersing myself in the world of WordPress, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media. I am really honoured to be part of this team as it is an opportunity to connect with many people, who feel a deep connection to Glastonbury.