About Us

Amidst the explosion of self-transformation technologies, ILLUMINATE aptly introduces the moving image as a compelling tool for empowered living.
- Martha Beck, Life Coach, O, The Oprah Magazine

Dedicated to elevating human consciousness and inspiring lasting transformation through cinema, ILLUMINATE is the world's leading film festival for evolutionary cinema.

The 2024 ILLUMINATE Film Festival will be held in Santa Barbara, CA, April 5-14, 2024. The festival showcases narrative features, documentaries, episodics and shorts in the genre of transformational entertainment. Meanwhile, join us online in our year-round Virtual Screening Room.

Our films and workshops explore the following themes:

The Human Journey: Self and Relationship

  • Self-love and self-acceptance
  • Unity consciousness and interconnectedness
  • Life purpose and possibility (human potential)
  • Conscious relationship and family
  • Sexuality and intimacy (masculine and feminine presence, tantra)
  • Career, money and abundance

Mind and Science

  • Mindfulness
  • Neuroscience and metaphysics
  • Intuitive arts
  • Dream psychology

Meditation, Spirituality and Practice

  • Spiritual practice (yoga, tai chi, qigong, etc.)
  • Healing techniques (EFT, Reiki, etc.)
  • Native American ceremony and shamanism

Body and Nutrition

  • Health and wellness
  • Alternative and energy medicine
  • Bodywork and therapy (massage, craniosacral, myofascial, acupuncture, chakra balancing, kinesiology)
  • Movement and dance (ecstatic dance, 5 rhythms, creative movement)
  • Culinary and detox (cleansing, plant-based diet, organic food movements)

Nature and Sustainability

  • Environment and ecology
  • Sustainable living and climate change
  • Herbalism

Arts and Creative Expression

  • Music and sound healing: kirtan, drumming, etc.
  • Writing, journaling, painting, photography and spoken word as healing forms


OUR MISSION AND VISION

We are a 501(c)(3) sponsored organization pioneering the growth of the emerging conscious film movement.

Our mission is to elevate human consciousness and inspire lasting transformation through cinema.

Our vision is to serve as the global hub for Conscious Cinema.


OUR TEAM

Executive Staff

Our Festival Team