"The Healing Planet team and I share a deep commitment to photograph and document the beauty and struggles of tribal people and endangered cultures worldwide. Healing Planet was the first film project I sponsored through Blue Earth Alliance, and a dream I gladly continue to support." -Phil Borges, Photographer/Co-Founder, Blue Earth Alliance (www.blueearth.org)

The Journey

As we consider the effects of living a life “too busy being busy,” the search for balance of mind, body and spirit has become essential. This quest has lead many toward ancient wisdom and spiritual practices. With global modernization, cultural assimilation and habitat destruction, many spiritual and healing practices are becoming lost arts. The Healing Planet team has traveled the world in the spirit of preservation while capturing amazing stories and creating an entertaining film and lasting archive. 

The Film

Healing Planet chronicles the lives, rituals and wisdom of healers and spiritual leaders from diverse world cultures, told from the unique perspective of Marie-Rose Phan-Lê, an apprentice healer, who was born in Vietnam and educated in the West. The Healing Planet film transports the viewer into a world of exotic places, sacred practices and practical applications in the art of healing.

In exploring her calling, Marie-Rose learns about the commitments, responsibilities and mysteries of being a healer. The viewers make discoveries along with her, as several masters instruct her in various practices such as gathering herbs, performing ceremonies and administering treatments. What emerges is a series of intimate portraits of healers as both human and divine. The personal journey serves as a thread, guiding the audience and introducing them to an expanded view of medicine.

The Book

The accompanying Healing Planet book will bring greater depth than the feature film format is capable of offering. Images provide the content. Words provide the context. This is the premise upon which the book is based. In this age of TMI (Too Much Information), there is a greater need for a fabric on which facts can be presented, especially in the arena of cultural awareness and understanding.  In the spirit of photo-activism, the photographs are the call to action, while the words can inspire a path to action. 

In addition, the Healing Planet project has a mandate to give back to the communities the team has visited by leaving a record of healing and spiritual practices for future generations. Since many of those communities do not have access to film or video, the book will be a respectful form of presenting and preserving their traditions.