The Unruly Mystic is an inspirational documentary telling the story of St. Hildegard of Bingen
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. She is indeed the unruly mystic. Her story, as told through those her life’s work has inspired, invites us all to embrace the connection between God, Nature and Art.
This documentary filmed by Michael E. Conti is the story of a powerful muse who invites us to create magic in our own lives by letting the ordinary touch the divine. Included are insightful interviews with Benedictine Sr. Lydia from the Abbey of St. Hildegard, Germany; Professor Beverly Mayne Kienzle at the Harvard Divinity School; Lynn Maxwell, a world-class mezzo soprano on her one-woman Hildegard show; Doctor Wighard Strelow’s healing work at the Hildegard Center in Allen Bach, Germany; and American Episcopal priest and theologian Matthew Fox.
In a presentation of the background for the film, the director, Michael Conti, writes how he fell in love with a 12th century saint: “It all started two years ago when I decided to take my first ever pilgrimage to the Rhineland. 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.”
The Unruly Mystic
Producer and director: Michael Conti
105 min
