Stephen Simon is a veteran movie producer who has headed up two major production companies and produced a myriad of box office hits, including the classic Somewhere in Time and the Academy Award-winning What Dreams May Come. He is also the author of The Force is With You: Mystical Movie Messages that Inspire Our Lives. Recognizing the powerful effect that the media has upon our culture, Simon is also the leading spokesperson for a new movie genre he calls "spiritual cinema."

Stephen Simon's driving passion is to expose spiritual cinema as its own genre. Although spiritual movies such as It's A Wonderful Life, A Field Of Dreams and Ghost have been around since the silent film era, the genre has never really been recognized on its own. In today's media marketplace where the words spiritual and religious are used interchangeably, Simon emphasizes that the term he coined, “spiritual cinema,” describes movies with the unique ability to get the audience to ask themselves two eternal questions, “Who are we?” and “Why are we here?”

Simon feels that for the most part, Hollywood has abandoned “transformational” filmmaking, and he asserts that corporate maneuvering over the past ten years has shifted attention to making movies which appeal to a younger audience. With no big money backing and larger studios abandoning this style of filmmaking, Simon and other independent filmmakers are taking advantage of the tremendous opening in the spiritual genre. Simon's 2003 favorite, Whale Rider, is an ideal example of this.

Simon's newest movie offering, Indigo, premiered at the Santa Fe Film Festival the first week in December, and won the prestigious “Audience Choice Award.” It is set for general release in 2004. Indigo is based on the popular Hay House book, Indigo Children, written by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober. “Indigo children,” explains Simon, “are actually a generation of children who have been identified over the last 10 or 15 years as having an extraordinary connection to the eternal. Many feel they are here to make the planet better.”
He continues, “They often have very powerful psychic and healing abilities and come into the world like littlemasters, in a way.” It can be very challenging to raise an “indigo child” because, as Simon puts it, “Indigo children often have an understanding beyond that of their parents.” In the film, ten-year-old indigo child Grace eventually reveals her gift, and in doing so heals the emotional wounds of her family. Stephen asserts, “It's very funny, it's very dramatic, and I think it's very touching.”

Simon's newest production and directing project is a movie based on Neale Donald Walsch's wildly popular best-selling book, Conversations With God. Walsch, who co-wrote Indigo's screenplay and also played a starring role in the film, will star in this movie based on his own compelling story of spiritual unfolding. Over the course of only four years, the main character elevates from living in a tent in the park and collecting aluminum cans to survive, to becoming a successful author with a run-away best-selling book. Walsch's story promises entertainment and enlightenment to those who enjoy spiritual cinema, and rumor has it that the story is open to sequels and prequels!

In the future, Simon plans to continue to develop movies in the spiritual genre. He has taken a personal interest in creating the film version of Richard Bach's book, Illusions. It is currently in the planning stages and is scheduled to go into production in 2004 with a release date some time in 2005. Thank you, Stephen – we can't wait!

Filmmaker Stephen Simon is co-founder and president of "Moving Messages: The Institute for Spiritual Entertainment, Inc.," an educational, development and distribution non-profit corporation for feature films, television shows, documentary, educational and training programs. Its mission is to use traditional and new media to express ideas that illumine and inspire individual and social transformation.

To view more information on the movie Indigo, go to www.Indigothemovie.com.

Displaying a diligent devotion to his passion, Stephen Simon has taken the “Mystical Movie Event” around the country and all over the world to establish more Spiritual Cinema Community discussion groups. Simon explains, “We are creating spiritual cinema communities so that people can meet with each other, watch movies together and discuss them. The entire organized effort gives people the opportunity to become involved in the spiritual entertainment arena as we move forward as a culture.”

Spiritual Cinema Communities meet regularly to watch movies of the spiritual genre as identified in the Mystical Movie Alerts (available on the web at www.movingmessagesmedia.com), in Simon's book The Force is With You: Mystical Movie Messages that Inspire Our Lives, or other spiritual movies chosen by the Community. Gatherings include open discussion, sharing of viewpoints and life experiences, and a whole lot of fun. Some Communities bring in guest speakers or have independent filmmakers screen their films. Other groups work together as a support team for a member's creative project. Each group is different, and the energy of the group determines the direction it takes.

Starting a Spiritual Cinema Community is as easy as finding people who love movies! What's important is forming the connection with others who have shared interests in spirituality and cinema.

For information on joining The Spiritual Cinema Circle, please visit http://www.spiritualcinemacircle.com?af=1269 or call (800) 280-8290.

The local spiritual cinema group, known as “Cleveland Community for Conscious Cinema,” or "4C," views films together at Unity of Greater Cleveland in Shaker Heights. Lively discussions about the movies follow the screening. For more information, contact Greg Liber at (216) 513-8226 or via e-mail at gregliber@yahoo.com.

For information on starting a Spiritual Cinema Community in your area contact Celeste Pichette, International Spiritual Cinema Community Coordinator at (313) 225-4102 or by e-mail at Celeste@movingmessagesmedia.com.