Screened as part of NZIFF 2013

The Source Family 2012

Directed by Jodi Wille, Maria Demopoulos

A sobering and fascinating time capsule of 70s psychedelia and communal hippiedom, with those who lived through the psychedelia, the songs and the madness – all wrapped up with eye-popping home movies and insightful interviews.

USA In English
98 minutes Blu-ray

Based on the book The Source by Isis Aquarian and Electricity Aquarian

Producers

Jodi Wille
,
Maria Demopoulos
,
Holly Becker
,
Amaryllis Knight

Photography

John Tanzer

Editors

Jennifer Harrington
,
Claire Didier

Music

The Source Family

With

Father Yod
,
Isis Aquarian
,
Sunflower Aquarian
,
Robin Baker
,
Om-Ne Aquarian
,
Galaxy Aquarian
,
Electricity Aquarian
,
Harvest Moon Aquarian
,
Electra Aquarian

Festivals

SXSW, San Francisco 2012

The Source Family were in many ways your typical 70s radical utopian experiment. They had their band, Ya Ho Wa 13, a throng of free-love advocates like Isis Aquarian and Electricity Aquarian, and a miniature harem for their leader. They also had loads of expendable cash, a hip Sunset Strip eatery, a Hollywood mansion, a talent for psychedelic music, and, of course, a charismatic guru named Father Yod, a man with an unhippie-like past and a misogynistic streak. Directors Jodi Wille and Maria Demopoulos’ access to revelatory archival photos, home movies, audio recordings and interviews with founding members allows them raw intimacy – and an even-handed historical perspective. While it’s easy for audiences to stare slack-jawed at sequences such as Father Yod performing at a high school, and the cult’s slow unravelling, it’s not so easy to shake off how profoundly affected some members remain to this day. — Ant Timpson