A feature documentary
Directed by
JOHANNA J. LUNN
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About the film
In the Realm of Death and Dreaming is a documentary film that asks the big question: Does consciousness continue after death, or is it lights out?
Director Johanna Lunn guides viewers on a journey to find answers by, exploring personal stories of near-death experiences, deathbed visions and more. She speaks with the leading clinicians and researchers who have spent their careers studying these experiences and the nature of consciousness. Their stories are revealed with humor and compassion.
Exploring what happens after death not only helps us decide how we want to be cared for at the end of life, but it reduces our fear of death and that, as is often said, helps us live more fully.
Researchers, clinicians, and near-death experiencers, who have spent their lives exploring death, dying, and the great mysteries of what happens after you die, share their wisdom.
Anthony Bossis
Clinical Psychologist
Elly Claire Hart
Integrative Neurofeedback Specialist
Dean Radin
Chief Scientist
Penny Sartori
Nurse & Author
Peter Fenwick
Neuropsychiatrist
Rev. David Maginley
Spiritual Consellor
Ann Marie Chiasson
Integrative & Energy Medicine
Sue Brayne
Therapist
Andrew Holecek
Author
Jill Schock
Death Doula Expert
Director's Notes
Over a two-and-a-half-year period, starting when I was 19, three very significant deaths appeared in my life that completely cracked my world apart. Because people didn’t know how to talk about death, I felt isolated, ghost-like. Talking about death was really taboo at that time. Although it was difficult for me, on reflection and with the advantage of time passing, I realize now how hard it must be for the dying when the people who love them most are afraid to talk with them.
My hope is that people walk away from this film asking themselves, “What do I think about all this? What do I want when I die?” My goal is not to tell people how or what to think, but to encourage the dialog, the questions and even, perhaps, some answers. To make conversations about death a normal thing, that happens before we enter the final journey, and not something that occurs because we are unexpectedly thrust into the situation of having to talk about it.
Our Creators
Director
JOHANNA J. LUNN
Johanna has worked in the film and television business for over 30 years. In that time, she has started up a PBS station, created a ground-breaking children’s film festival and was Artistic Director of the Atlantic Film Festival. She also launched the Independent Film Channel Canada, produced and directed over 150 hours of award-winning television, and produced and directed five documentary films, one of which won Best Documentary in its class at Hot Docs.
“At a young age I witnessed a number of significant deaths that completely cracked my world apart. Because it was taboo to talk about death at the time, I felt terribly isolated. Looking back on those experiences, and with the wisdom of having done much research on dying, I have learned that death, like birth, is one of the most extraordinary events in life, and it is critical that we learn to talk about it.”
Executive Producer
James H. Hoagland
James has been working in the film and video industry since 1976, as a producer, camera operator, sound recordist or editor on over 30 motion pictures. James also served as an archival technical director in Nova Scotia where he was responsible for restoring over 300 hours of deteriorating video tapes.
“When Johanna proposed the idea of doing a project together around end-of-life issues, it felt really right to me because both my parents had recently passed away, and the thought of a series on life’s last journey into the unknown seemed like an important project to undertake.”
