The story of how a 13th-century Persian mystic became the bestselling poet in America. For seven hundred years, Rumi's writings have enchanted, inspired and enlightened Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus and Buddhist. Rumi's poetry celebrates the sacred in everyday existence and transcends boundaries of time and place to speak universally to all people. Director Haydn Reiss will be on hand to introduce the film and answer questions afterwards.
The film features Coleman Barks, the pre-eminent translator of Rumi working today, along with poet/translator Robert Bly (who in 1976 encouraged Barks to begin to translate Rumi); Deepak Chopra, storyteller and mythologist Michael Meade, and religious historian and author of "The World’s Religions", Huston Smith. Oud virtuoso Hamza El Din and musician Jai Uttal offer inspiring accompaniment to this beautifully produced film. A lively and provocative exploration of the genius and timeliness of Rumi’s emergence in the west.
60 min.
New York City, NY; NYC