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Patron Saint of Creativity

Photo: Michael Conti with Sister Lydia Stritzl at Benedictine Abbey of Saint Hildegard, Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany.

Patron Saint of Creativity

I found myself referring to her as a patron saint of creativity when I first starting my film.  Saint Hildegard of Bingen evokes a calling, that sweet spot of creativity that we all yearn to play in, which is also spiritual in nature.  She is venerated for her widely recognized impact on today’s theologians, artists, musicians, doctors and educators.   I explored that theme more closely in my finished film, The Unruly Mystic: Saint Hildegard.

She is indeed the unruly mystic. Her story, invites us all to embrace the connection between God, Nature and Art. This is the story of a powerful muse who invites us to create magic in our own lives by letting the ordinary touch the divine.  I think of how she has helped me connect with my own spirituality and creativity. ♥

People ask me how I came to make a documentary about Saint Hildegard of Bingen. I don’t see this film as a religious historical documentary, but a prescriptive documentary of how one woman that is still widely unknown (although recently canonized and made a doctor of the church by the Vatican in 2013) can continue to have a profound impact on today’s theologians, artists, musicians and educators.

When I decided to take my first ever pilgrimage to the Rhineland in spring 2013.  I took a 10-day retreat which was billed as a Birthing Vision, coinciding with spring equinox in the Rhineland, and the opportunity to immerse into the Light and Greening Power of Hildegard.  The result of that retreat was for me the start of a film entitled The Unruly Mystic which is a prescriptive documentary of how I as the filmmaker reaffirm my life’s work when I fell in love with a 12th century Saint.  It is a journey that has now taken me to Germany several more times, and given me to the opportunity to meet artists, writers, musicians, theologians and doctors around the world that have found their life changed by Saint Hildegard.

Dr. Wighard Strehlow’s healing work at the Hildegard Center in Allensbach, Germany.

Included in the film are other insightful interviews with Benedictine Sr. Lydia from the Abbey of St. Hildegard, Germany; Professor Beverly Mayne Kienzle at the Harvard Divinity School; Linn Maxwell, a world-class mezzo soprano on her one-woman Hildegard show, The Living Light; Dr. Wighard Strehlow’s healing work at the Hildegard Center in Allen Bach, Germany; and American Episcopal priest and theologian Matthew Fox.

For me, Saint Hildegard of Bingen evokes a calling, that sweet spot of creativity that we all yearn to play in, which is also spiritual in nature.  The film reveals how she is still venerated for her widely recognized impact on today’s theologians, artists, musicians, doctors and educators.

She is indeed the unruly mystic. Her story invites us all to embrace the connection between God, Nature and Art. This is the story of a powerful muse who invites us to create magic in our own lives by letting the ordinary touch the divine.

It has been an amazing birthing process  when I first took that pilgrimage, and now with the film’s birth, and it has been another journey in screening and promoting the film’s message to an international audience.

This film presents a deservedly dynamic and alive portrait of this amazing pioneer and renaissance woman, Hildegard of Bingen, as it zeroes in especially on her powers of healing through her music and her dietary teachings.  It presents a diverse mix of contemporary persons, women and men, who have been affected by her many works so imbued with spirit in search of wisdom.  An excellent documentary, full of Hildegard’s spirit!

Matthew Fox, author of “Hildegard of Bingen, a Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century” and “Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen” and “Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works with Letters and Songs.

As I witnessed how Saint Hildegard continues to inspire people in these challenging times, I was reminded of my own dark night of the soul moment as a 22 year old in Barcelona in 1983.  It was in that teaching moment I decided to pursue a life of creativity that I am still living today as a filmmaker.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but Saint Hildegard was already walking with me.  I rediscovered her as a source of my inspiration as I conducted my interviews and walked in her path during two visits to her Rhineland homeland.

It is my wish to inspire the audience on their own path of creativity and meaning through the telling of this unique mystic figure.  At the end of the film,  I give credit as being inspired by the Patron Saint of Creativity. Recently I wrote a new blog posting talking about the patron saint of creativity.

About Matthew Fox:

Matthew Fox has devoted his career to unleashing the suppressed mystical and life-affirming traditions within Christianity and other faiths. His theology of Creation Spirituality-the belief that we are born in “original blessing”-earned him the headline-making censure of the Vatican, which officially “silenced” Fox in 1989 and precipitated his dismissal by the Dominican Order in 1993. Now an Episcopal priest, Fox is the author of more than twenty books.

26 thoughts on “Patron Saint of Creativity”

  1. I am interested in showing this documentary at my church in Los Angeles. I teach Mindfulness with an emphasis on self compassion to quiet the inner critic and open our hearts to G-d. My congregation is full of creatives!
    How do I access this work?

    1. Thank you for your interest in screening The Unruly Mystic.

      I would love to work with you on scheduling a screening at your Los Angeles church in 2015.

      There are a couple options for this type of community screening event besides a DVD screener; materials to help market the event, talking points for a discussion afterwards, the opportunity to Skype with the filmmaker, and other folks in the film.

      We are still working out the details of how best to present the film, and I was wondering if you could provide some more information on your church, the intended audience and a date when you would like to screen the film.

      I look forward to hearing back.

      Best,
      Michael

    2. Forgive the long delay in response! I am ready to think this through with you now.
      Ours is a 100 year old church community in Los Angeles, close to Hollywood –hence our name, Mount Hollywood Congregational UCC.
      We are part of “emerging church movement”, who have sold our building, meet in rented space, and rewritten our bylaws to allow innovation and creativity.
      A showing of this documentary will help us establish ourselves as an “emerging church”!
      To whom will we show this film: we have 60 people in our congregation. In addition, We are aligned with other Progressive UCC churches that are 3-6 miles from us.
      And our church is in the heart of Los Feliz, a “village” attracting a community of eclectic people and families.
      Where? Our meeting place can hold 50 people indoors. My first hope is to show it to the congregation of Mount Hollywood and their invited friends. But I am willing to work with you to have it shown at one of the two neighborhood movie theaters.
      When?perhaps we could show it to our congregation later this summer, and with their enthusiasm behind it, do a wider showing somewhere in Los Feliz in late October.
      I will propose the project to leadership if you can support us by providing the film, and some publicity materials. One of our congregants is at the LATimes, and would invite someone from the press to attend.
      I look forward to a response ( hopefully quicker than mine!!!!!)
      Nancy

      1. Hi Nancy,
        Thank you for your follow up. I understand that these things take time, and when the time is right they happen!

        Since we last spoke, I have simplified the screening process for small groups like you have described and you can do that directly online.

        For theater rentals, I would handle that task with the hope you would support the screening with your community among others. If you could find out what theaters would be interested, I would be happy to follow up with them directly and book a time that works for all of us.

        Please use the following link to access the page with those details. I would also suggest looking at the calendar to see what other events might be occurring in October for the film.

        Best,
        Michael

  2. Hi Michael. It’s Jody, Tilly Strauss’ brother-in-law. The film looks great! Good work. I can’t wait to see it. It looks really interesting and congratulations.

    Sincerely,
    Jody

  3. Bountifulll Blessings to You and yours. Iam SO GRATEFULLL to have Hildegard Respected and Appreciated. I shall look forward to a screening in the “City of Angels” Los Angeles

  4. Michael,

    We spoke on the phone a couple of days ago. I failed to act immediately to get my tix for the event at The Boe and found that it was sold out. What are the options for seeing the documentary?

    1. Hi Constance,
      Apparently there was more interest in the film than the venue could hold, and we are scheduling another screening on May 5 at 7:30. Those tickets should be available starting tomorrow on the Dairy Center website.

      Best,
      Michael

  5. Hi Michael! I would like to speak with you about showing your film in Louisville, KY as a fundraiser and grand opening for Hildegard House, a home providing compassion and care to individuals at the end of life who have no loved ones or home so that they may die with dignity.
    Looking forward to hearing from you!
    Karen Cassidy
    Executive Director
    [email protected]
    502-797-7411

  6. Hello,

    One of our members donated a copy of your film to our library. I haven’t watched it yet, but am a fan of Hildegard’s! I would like permission to screen it at our Center in Boulder. You can reach me at 303.562.5695.

    Thank you!

  7. Could you send me some information about how we would arrange a showing in St. Paul Minnesota or how we could buy a copy
    thanks so much, Sue

    1. Hi Sue,
      Thank you for your interest in screening the film. I know that there are several other people that would love to see the film there (as they are also in the film!)

      My primary goal is to promote community screenings as opposed to watching the film alone since I feel it promotes good conversation.

      Let me know what you have in mind, and how we can work together. I have a non-theatrical license agreement for non-public screenings as well as one for theatrical screenings. We are doing the latter in Louisville KY this Friday as a benefit for the Hildegard House.

      Best,
      Michael

  8. Dear Michael

    WOW! thank you for this project. I cant wait to see the film.I enjoy Hildergard so much and being a catholic christian myself she is so inspirational. I am a Creative Expressive Arts Therapies student at Derby University UK and a professional musician (percussionist) and i specialise in Hang sound-sculpture and also work witrh a professional singer who sings hildergard. I would love to host your film at my university talk about your work and the film. I am also in the process of building a school in Bengali India among the famous Santhal tribel people. There will be creative expressive arts proects and developments in all areas of creative expression, wher children can grow and discover their creativity and go on to pursue their paths. It would be fantastive to host this film here at Uni in the UK and creatce small group discussion for inspiration, artistic collaboration etc and raise some money for the creative arts school project.

    Look forward to hearing from you and if you need any more info please let me know.

    Very best wishes and congratulations

    chris

    1. Hi Chris,
      I love it when these types of connections get made through Saint Hildegard’s amazing work from around the world. It looks like you are half-way between London and Liverpool, probably closer to Liverpool where I have a good friend running an arts program. I will send you an email from [email protected] so that we can continue this conversation in more detail.

      Best,
      Michael

  9. I saw the film in Boulder this evening — enjoyed it.

    I would have preferred less of the doctor talking about food and diet and more examples of how Hildegard spoke truth to power (i.e., her unruly side).

    Also, the first reference to Linn Maxwell on this website has her first name spelled “Lynn”.

  10. I am interested in exploring a showing for 30 people at a retreat center in Cleveland Ohio…can you send me info on costs to rent or buy the film? We are a book group and spiritual poetry circle meeting at Centering Space in Lakewood OH. Best, kim

    1. Hi Kim,
      Thank you for your interest in screening the film, if you visit the following page you can get more details on how to pay for and obtain the film for a screening. Screening to thirty people is a good number for an audience that is interested in the material and engages in a conversation after the film.

      Please let me know if you have any further questions.
      Best,
      Michael

  11. Are there any showings coming up in NYC or the Hudson Valley? I don’t have the resources to host a screening, and I’d very much like to see this somehow.

  12. I watched your film today through Amazon and enjoyed it very much. I became interested in St. Hildegard recently after hearing of her work in herbal medicine. After watching the film, I engaged in intense prayer with her and felt it was the beginning of a beautiful new relationship. I then discovered this website and read that in fact today is her feastday, which I did not know! I immediately consulted the Catholic calendar on my kitchen wall because I was in such disbelief. Indeed, I found it is her feastday! It is hard for me to take this as a coincidence. I feel she is telling me something!

    I appreciate that your film is making St. Hildegard more known to the world. I feel the film came from a genuine love and tried to treat her and the Catholics interviewed with respect. My only issue with the film is the “New Age,” even occultist interpretation of her work by the many non-Catholics that were interviewed. These practices are completely incompatible with Catholicism and with St. Hildegard herself. She was not involved with witchcraft and was not altogether “unruly.” She was a staunch defender of the Roman Catholic Church and lived by all of its teachings. Having said that, I thank you for making this film and hope it is the beginning of a journey toward the “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic” Faith for many.

    Chiara F. Mathews, Founder/Director
    Nomen Christi Apostolate, New York

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