Culture

Filmmaker James Myers wins award for Druid-themed film

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SAN FRANCISCO — Filmmaker James Myers was presented with the “Excellence Narrative Film Award” at this year’s San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival for his film Awen The film is described as an inspirational short that “follows the Celtic goddess Brigit as she spreads inspiration to others.”

Myers, who is a Druid and member of Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF), began his film career after spending four years in the Navy. He attended the the University of Southern Mississippi, where he majored in film and minored in theater. When he graduated, Myers went to work in the television industry. “I’ve worked for major networks like CNN, Good Morning America, ESPN, the Outdoor Channel, and Al Jazeera. I have also spent a great deal of time in local news markets as a photojournalist,” Myers told The Wild Hunt in an interview.

News

Druid studying Pagan views on death

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DURHAM, England — A graduate student at Durham University has launched a survey aimed at better understanding Pagan attitudes to death, funerals, and ancestors. Thus far, Jenny Uzzell reports, the participation has been much more widespread than she might have hoped, meaning it could lay a foundation for more scholarship around these areas in the future. Uzzell is herself a Druid, and the bulk of her scholarship has been focused on British Druidry specifically. However, she’s looking for broader participation in this survey. “I am interested in building up as complete a body of research as possible, into the attitudes of Pagans to a range of subjects related to death and memorialisation, as well as beliefs about what happens to a person when they die,” Uzzell explained.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: URI, Erin Lale, Dirge Magazine and more

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The United Religions Initiative (URI) held its global summit leadership meeting in Sarajevo, beginning Sept 11. The weeklong meeting brought together URI representatives from around the world and from many different religious backgrounds. The organization’s goal is to “promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.” Rev. Donald Frew was at the Sarajevo meeting as a representative of Covenant of the Goddess. Frew has been working in interfaith circles for decades, sometimes even as the lone Pagan voice at the table.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Hurricane Irma, Earrach of Pittsburgh, Rosaleen Norton and more

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UNITED STATES – Hurricane Irma, one of the biggest recorded Atlantic storms in recent history, is making its way up the Florida coast and into the Southeastern states. In its wake, Irma has left a trail of damage to homes and structures and flooding across the Caribbean and southern Florida. According to the latest reports, the death told now stands at 24. When news of the storm broke, Florida Pagans, Heathens, and polytheists began preparations, as did the entire state. Some stayed, some boarded up and left.

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Column: Druidry in Australia

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AUSTRALIA — Druidry is on the rise. The 2011 census recorded an all-time high of 1048 followers of Druidry or Druidism in the country. That number is expected to be larger in the latest census data, which will be released in the coming year. In recent decades, OBOD and ADF groves have been springing up, along with individuals practicing more eclectic, non-denominational forms of the religion. Anecdotally, many of the statewide Pagan not-for-profit groups have also seen the interest in Druidry increase.