Synopsis
The film is guided by the narration of local spiritual figures and laypeople as they explain their perspectives on faith, purpose and their close relationship with the beautiful but harsh natural environment.
The film serves as a tribute to the humbling warmth, wisdom and kindness of those who were willing to share their time, rituals and perspectives with us.
The film is guided by the narration of local spiritual figures and laypeople as they explain their perspectives on faith, purpose and their close relationship with the beautiful but harsh natural environment.
The film serves as a tribute to the humbling warmth, wisdom and kindness of those who were willing to share their time, rituals and perspectives with us.
FILM TRAILER
The experience of making Into Belief showed us the power of the documentary form to cultivate empathy, awareness and curiosity toward the lives of peoples from underrepresented cultures.
Produced entirely independently, the film is our crew’s first collaboration in honestly inquiring into the stories of people living spiritual and cultural practices typically not represented well beyond academia and local or regional TV news.
The goal is to create portraits of people and places that highlight commonality and syncretism in seemingly disparate spiritualities by moving past prejudice, sanctimonious or exotified portrayals of faith and closer toward why and how it is informed by our daily lives and environment.
Our intention is to continue giving voice to stories of spirituality and culture through genuine connection and examination of the human condition — and to do so with a lyrical visual style and original score to create an aesthetic which is more experiential than cognitive, much like the process of faith itself can be.
The experience of making Into Belief showed us the power of the documentary form to cultivate empathy, awareness and curiosity toward the lives of peoples from underrepresented cultures.
Produced entirely independently, the film is our crew’s first collaboration in honestly inquiring into the stories of people living spiritual and cultural practices typically not represented well beyond academia and local or regional TV news.
The goal is to create portraits of people and places that highlight commonality and syncretism in seemingly disparate spiritualities by moving past prejudice, sanctimonious or exotified portrayals of faith and closer toward why and how it is informed by our daily lives and environment.
Our intention is to continue giving voice to stories of spirituality and culture through genuine connection and examination of the human condition — and to do so with a lyrical visual style and original score to create an aesthetic which is more experiential than cognitive, much like the process of faith itself can be.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
The son of two classical musicians, DJ is a Shanghai-based director from a small mountain town in Colorado.
Driven by cultural and linguistic curiosities, he moved to China shortly after graduating from college.
Over a decade of extensive travel while being based in China has created a sustained passion for translating the lasting impressions of experiences across cultures into film projects.
His work is motivated by a genuine appreciation for the breadth and depth of cultural diversity and the countless permutations of the human condition which manifest therein.
He is known for genre-blurring films with experimental tendencies, cross-cultural emotional sensibilities and an intimate, lyrical visual style with a heavy emphasis on sound.
Whether through documentaries and narrative films or music videos and art projects, DJ is committed to investing himself in films which explore the potent intersections and complexity of human emotion, culture, consciousness and our relationships to our environment.
His work has been included in film festivals, art exhibitions and curated video programs globally.
The son of two classical musicians, DJ is a Shanghai-based director from a small mountain town in Colorado.
Driven by cultural and linguistic curiosities, he moved to China shortly after graduating from college.
Over a decade of extensive travel while being based in China has created a sustained passion for translating the lasting impressions of experiences across cultures into film projects.
His work is motivated by a genuine appreciation for the breadth and depth of cultural diversity and the countless permutations of the human condition which manifest therein.
He is known for genre-blurring films with experimental tendencies, cross-cultural emotional sensibilities and an intimate, lyrical visual style with a heavy emphasis on sound.
Whether through documentaries and narrative films or music videos and art projects, DJ is committed to investing himself in films which explore the potent intersections and complexity of human emotion, culture, consciousness and our relationships to our environment.
His work has been included in film festivals, art exhibitions and curated video programs globally.
FILM CREW CREDITS
Producers
Maxim Savchenko & Anastasia Isaichenko
DIRECTOR / EDITOR / SOUND DESIGN
DJ FURTH
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
GIANPAOLO LUPORI
ART DIRECTOR / STYLIST
SAKURA FISCHER
Field Producer
NATE BROWN
GEAR RENTAL
ELLIOT DEBRUYN, HUJIE & CINERENT BEIJING