SOUL QUEST

In early 2023, Shaman Sirata led an expedition of people from around the world into the magical mountains of Manoa. Sirata, a well known Shaman in Colombia, South America has spent a great deal of his life exploring these mountains. Manoa is the indigenous word for El Dorado, the City of Gold. Atlantis. Explorers have been drawn to this region in search of a buried treasure that has lived in folklore for centuries. The most famous of the explorers was Sir Walter Raleigh who led two expeditions to this area for the Queen of Spain in the 1500’s.

Locally, it’s known as a mystical place where over the centuries lots of mysterious occurrences have documented. Sirata published a book entitled Manoa that reflects upon the time he spent in this region. When he agrees to lead an expedition to this area, word gets out and spiritual leaders from all over South America gather to follow him. 

In 2020, two days after I heard about this expedition, I packed my still/video cameras and headed to a continent that I’ve never to before. After finding my way to a city nine hours from Bogota, I joined up with six others from the US and spent a week with over twenty people from all across South America. Spiritual leaders, professional musicans, families and fellow seekers, create community while immersing themselves in ancient ceremonies celebrated with sacred medicines. It’s a week of self discovery that leads the participants experiencing a spiritual awakening. For me, it was the most real, authentic experience of my life. The self awareness, the feelings of oneness, a direct connection to all things was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was life changing. Before departing the group, I expressed an interest in returning with a film crew to capture the stories of what an expedition into Manoa produces.

After a couple of covid related delays, in February 2023, I was finally able to return with a few film friends. Soul Quest, is a four part documentary that is the result of that trip. It tells the stories of several pariticipants as they experience pofound transformations guided by spiritual leaders in a safe and non-judgemental setting that fosters growth in many areas of life. The documentary ends with a 6 month check in with several of the participants to discover if and how their lives have changed since their Manoa experience.