“Your pain is not coming from your back. Would you like to come with me to the world of the spirits?”

We are not your average film company company. We believe and live by synchronicity, service, and interdependence. In fact, our name is a Sanskrit word meaning “servant.” By this we mean that we are not in the film business for personal gain, and we know that we would not have had the successes that we have had if we did. Gopyaka Films International is a nonprofit born out of our incredible and humbling life saving experience with our shaman, Don Antonio, an elder Mayan healer from a small pueblo in Yucatan, Mexico. When we chanced upon meeting him and his family, we were in a desperate situation you could say both physically and spiritually. Without a hint as to what we felt we needed treatment for, Don Antonio immediately recognized that my husband was in serious pain and said,

“Your pain is not coming from your back. Would you like to come with me to the world of the spirits?”

Since we are not people that turn away from great wisdom and challenge, Philip (my husband)  accepted.   It was only after a harrowing 14 days of intensive treatment the likes of which could blow anyone’s mind that Philip overcame what he later learned was a life-threatening illness so-called modern medicine wouldn’t have a chance at treating effectively. Through spending a lot of time with our shaman’s family and in Yucatan, where as they say, “Magic is reality,” we were taught the importance of how to not lose sight of our souls in the struggle to live in both this world, or the material world, and the spirit world, with a full heart and divine purpose.

One day while receiving our treatments at their traditional Mayan cottage we asked who the children that were watching Don Antonio work were.  The family told us that they were the neighbors children that were allowed to  visit and watch as their parents were hard at work in town, since they were too poor to buy the uniforms required to attend school. They went on to tell us how many children are unable to attend school because lack of money needed to buy lunch at school, and a simple uniform. Our shaman’s family is fortunate to send their children off to school every day, but they know how difficult it is.  They also told us that it is rare for children to have the opportunity to see their ancient culture at work as these neighbor children had, and they feared that the young people had too little understanding of their roots, increasingly becoming part of the  more spiritually dissociated society.

An idea came over us instantly. My husband has a Master’s Degree in Media, and he’s a candidate for a Master’s Degree in Screenwriting Theory and Practice. We study international cinema. Here we have forged a bond with an amazing family of healers who trusted us to be in their home, even though they have no experience with people not from Yucatan, and changed our lives for the better forevermore. Why not ask this family if they would like to share their ancestral knowledge in a documentary film so that people know what is possible in this world, and by selling our film we will earn the money needed to begin “La Brigada de Los Ninos,” an organization to purchase school uniforms and provide lunch money to children in need, in exchange for that child’s participation once a month cleaning up garbage around their pueblo. Don Antonio said yes, and we quickly began working. 

Our film series entitled, Curanderos: Back To Halacho is still in production/post-production will be a multi-part series focusing on the different modalities that result in healing, including shamanism, music, dance, art, and last but not least, The Rhythmic Arts Project. We recently had the honor of doing a 5 1/2 minute video for a benefit concert for The Rhythmic Arts Project for which we received a standing ovation and many kind words from the host, Edward James Olmos (actor).