Kamala Devi and Baba Dez star in Sex Magic
I appear nude on the silver screen in the controversial new Documentary about Baba Dez entitled, Sex Magic: Manifesting Maya. Directed by Jonathan Schell, and Eric Leibman. Because this film is a brave exploration of sacred sex work, it seems only natural to share my body in the buff…but when all of my dearest friends and family,including my mother, were in the audience, I started feeling a tad vulnerable. Much of the footage was shot while I was still nursing,soon after my pregnancy while working in Sedona and Hawaii.
The short summary of the documentary reads: Baba Dez is a polyamorous, sacred sexual healer who’s made love to over a thousand women. When his primary lover (Maya) abandons him due to his “poly” lifestyle, he practices Sex Magic with other women to manifest her back.
My role in the documentary cuts far deeper than physical nakedness. Because Baba Dez is my co-author, friend and lover the story reveals details about my personal life that I hold dear, as well as reflecting ideas and practices that I don’t necessarily align with. But the movie doesn’t have to reflect the opinions of everyone involved to have a net positive affect on the planet.
It has recently won the “official selection award” at both Phildelphia and Chicago international film festivals. A reviewer from Philadelphia writes “…Easily the most insane, thought-provoking, balanced, hysterical (although not ALWAYS on purpose) well-crafted doc I’ve seen in years.” Last week on IFC it was ranked # 1 VOD Sales (Video on demand, for documentaries.) Such accolades are unheard of for a documentary that doesn’t revolve around a big name or a current event.
However, the project has not always been well received. And it took immense amount of courage and perseverance by Dez and the directors to get it where it is now. In the 4 years of it’s creation, the doc went through over 15 edits, and unofficial screenings with intense negative reactions.
I remember when, despite the director’s advice, Dez held a public screening of a rough cut at the Daka-Dakini Conference in Virginia Beach. The audience of 70 sexual healers nearly broke out in a riot! Some people loved it but others pleaded with Dez not to release it. The early versions of this film was drastically different, and critics claimed the film portrayed: sex addiction, black magic, rape allegations, breaking traditional family values, objectifying women, and commercializing spiritual work.
I can only imagine the heat that Dez has taken for making this movie. At recent conferences, I’ve been personally attacked for allowing my son to be shown in an adult content film and had esteemed colleagues judge and condemned me for my decision to collaborate with him.
I admit, I was not always impressed with the early versions, and I may not agree with all of Dez’s practices, and still may disagree with the some of the director’s choices.
However, I maintain unwavering support for innovative art that speaks directly into our cultures darkest taboos. Further, I have witnessed profound growth and healing as a result of this project.
Last year, I spent the holiday season in Australia with my husband, son, Baba Dez and his lovers Maya and Natasha (Dez’s other lovers from the film.) We rented a retreat center, worked together, and even took a RV trip through the bush. While down under, we screened a rough-cut of the doc to over 100 people who laughed, cried and had profound revelations. During the various Q & A panel discussions, we deepened our understanding of unconventional family.
Maya who’s since become like a sister to me, has traveed solo to Bali to continue her deep personal healing and is now writing her own blog and book to release Dez and his enchantment.
Earlier this year, I held an unofficial screening of a late version of Sex Magic at my home temple with the directors Eric Liebman and Jon Schell. I’m grateful that these sincere documentary-makers gave consideration to the San Diego Tantra community’s feedback before editing the final cut. Even in that early version, just by watching the film, one woman in the audience had a full body recall of an early incest experience, and went on to seek peer counseling and expressed deep gratitude to Dez and afterwards.
I’ve since gotten hundreds of letters from people around the world who’s lives have been touched and transformed by this powerful piece of media.
As a sexual healer, Dez can only touch so many lives with his hands on healing, but through writing books and producing movies and traveling internationally, Baba Dez is able to be a more powerful instrument of change. Dez has also created a broader platform for other sacred sexual healers such as myself, Mare Simone, Kypris Aster Drake, Ariel White, Lawrence Lanoff, Jaiya Ma and Shawn Roop to name just a few in California. I am proud to align with Baba Dez. And I am proud to be doing more mass media. Even though I may not agree with all Dez’s teachings, or all the ways that our words are edited by Hollywood, we share a clear intention to heal sexual guilt, fear and shame towards sacred sexual liberation on the global level. Ultimately, I believe that intention will come through no matter how it is edited or misrepresented, or misunderstood.
Watch a trailer of this movie at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553301/
The final cut of this documentary is now available online at: http://www.kamaladevi.com/products-page/dvd/sex-magic-dvd
Learn More About Sex Magic
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