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Cult Escape Artists - Interview Podcast - Feature Documentary - Documentary Series
We dive in to stories of artists escaping cults from around the globe.
The director of the feature documentary WITNESS UNDERGROUND interviews artists, musicians, actors, directors, authors etc. who successfully navigated mind control tactics and got out of a cult. Through making our documentary, artists all over the world emerged with amazing music, art, and stories which we show off as powerful examples of resilience and empowerment.
Film short synopsis:
Witness Underground is a feature documentary that reveals the insular DIY music community that emerged within a high-control cult. Music, fame, and success are typically forbidden in this faith, who instruct its members to “beware of independent thinking.”
The artists at the heart of the music scene have their faith tested in deeply personal ways. They battle for positive mental health and push the boundaries of their religion’s norms, where leaving means being banned from interacting with your entire family and social circle for life.
Although severely restricted, they create the record label Nuclear Gopher and produce over 30 albums of earnest and personal music that spans singer/songwriter, riot grrrl, psychedelic rock, pop, EDM, shoegaze, and post-rock. Carefully curated songs and live performances punctuate their stories of friendship, deep loss, and personal growth.
Watch the film - Follow the podcast
WitnessUnderground.com
Watch:
Vimeo.com/ondemand/witnessunderground
Patreon.com/WitnessUnderground
Youtube.com/@BananaIslandFilms
34 Episodes
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This woman was interrogated by cult leaders. Female Hollywood writer, actor, director, Bonnie Root, explores the system of manipulation, abuse, and control in the Jehovah Witnesses and the film industry. We dive into her experience with a cult Judicial Committee, sexual interrogations, her award-winning film, "Sissy" about grooming of teens, The Movie, a physchological thriller, and her new ExJW film coming out, Diary of Heather Keating, a narrative exposing the Judicial Committee for the abu...
Ryan DuVal, software engineer and old friend from Colorado, was the only person I asked to help produce Witness Underground. He flew up from Asheville North Carolina as our producer in Minneapolis and was the guiding light for multiple editing revisions. He brought a fresh perspective to the project that became essential in telling this deep nuanced story. This episode was recorded at the Auxbus podcast studio in Asheville, a start-up where he pioneered the audio software we recorded this ...
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MXHELuzxVbY Siân Walmsley Krubeck did the heavy lifting of story editing and color for our feature documentary Witness Underground. In this episode we dive into the process, challenges, clashes, pressures, frustrations, and successes of working together in our first discussion after creating the film. She has since worked on several other films and also written her first novel. All of Siân's links: https://linktr.ee/sjkrubeck Read The Devi...
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/i8zV6W-lKiE Subscribe if you like this content. Former Elder in Jehovah's Witnesses, Gary Alt, was even a long-time "Bethelite," a worker at their world headquarters called Watchtower (a book publishing company masquerading as a religion). One of his contributions while there was cultural. He was asked to host a monthly music entertainment night at Bethel. Check out his songs: "Here are a handful of songs you might be interested in. ...
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kyhAPbxw9Rs Subscribe there if you like this content. Our Co-Producer, Anthony Mathenia, meets up with Scott Homan and Ryan Sutter in an engaging conversation highlighting his film work with Outlaw films, and the four books he wrote. From Outlaw Films Free to watch with ads on Tubi: Dope Men: America's First Drug Cartel https://tubitv.com/movies/100008549/dope-men-america-s-first-drug-cartel Night Life https://tubitv.com/movies/100009015/ni...
Watch this special episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/cYA8AmHud-4 Rewrite your subconscious with Jonam's self-authorship hypnotherapy program! We jump into how it works and the process you'll experience when you start. Courteously made available to backers, Jonam Ross's course can help with recovery from trauma and much more. You will learn how to become your own hypnotherapist and build a high degree of competence in working with your unconscious mind and leveraging unconscious...
Youtube Version of this episode: https://youtube.com/live/4zuAoAVoX2E Scott Ariza, Hyouhen in the gaming world, joined Witness Underground for our film release launch on Kickstarter. Scott and I are both connected to great people in the film world in Los Angeles through Filmocracy Film Festival. That group has become a really important community and film festival for Witness Underground. Scott and I met through the Filmocracy Discord. https://filmocracy.com Paul and Philip Jun are brothers ...
Youtube Version of this episode: https://youtube.com/live/9_cib9UF8C8 Klaas De Loose with Monster Match Studios joined Witness Underground to bring it to the professional level that you see today. Let’s dive into his music and illustrations! Check out his work at https://mnstrmtch.com From Klaas: "As a Jehovah's Witness, I used to be a people pleaser and that also reflected my work as a graphic designer. I arrived at a certain place in my life and I want to be completely myself when it...
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/ZkyWnvYqe7w Denise Braitsch wrote Rising From the Ashes of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Available now https://a.co/d/0tgc9e7 Listen to her music, subscribe to her newsletter for The Past Life Detective, and more here: https://linktr.ee/isisiallthings Witness Underground is the only film to humanize cult life & survival via self-expression. Within the confines of an elusive cult, a vibrant alternative music community thrived, deprog...
Watch on YouTube now: https://youtube.com/live/Zpl13FTgfWo We're joined in this special episode by Augustus Watkins, drummer in the band Ghost Army, featured in Witness Underground the documentary and Motion Picture Soundtrack. Augustus is prolific in his creation of music and next level in promotion. Dive into his work here: Get Ghost Army's Album Sleepywood Dojo. https://ghostarmympls.bandcamp.com/album/sleepywood-dojo If you're a musician, consider signing with GIVE/TAKE - a boutique r...
Watch this episode on YouTube now: https://youtube.com/live/76y2DjgtKbQ Get Micah Allen Losh's Apostasy Trilogy as physical copies. Info: https://www.micahallenlosh.com/theapostasytrilogy Store - Special Discount on the Apostate Trilogy: https://witness-underground-cult-documentary-release.pledgebox.com/preorder The Apostasy Trilogy is the most interesting and exciting book series in the ExJW world to date. Be sure to get copies now. Witness Underground is the only film to humaniz...
Watch on YouTube now: https://youtu.be/c9Q5U4afGxE Danielle Martain is connected to every person featured in the Witness Underground documentary. Check out her podcast, Failure to Thriving! instagram.com/failuretothriving Listen to their albums: https://puffpuff.bandcamp.com/album/echo Witness Underground is the only film to humanize cult life & survival via self-expression. Within the confines of an elusive cult, a vibrant alternative music community thrived, deprogramming themselve...
http://www.WitnessUnderground.com We've launched the Kickstarter campaign of our dreams! Support the film and the community. 32 donated albums, 9 E-Books, HD Documentary with Extras, Soundtrack, and more. Everything we could think of! Matthew Smiley, a long-time supporter on Patreon, pledged to become an Associate Producer, to support Witness Underground to help us get onto streaming platforms in our general release in November/December Become an Associate Producer. and join fi...
WitnessUnderground.com We've launched the Kickstarter campaign of our dreams! Support the film and the community. 32 donated albums, 9 E-Books, HD Documentary with Extras, Soundtrack and more. Everything we could think of! Elle Reno Pledged to become an Associate Producer to support Witness Underground getting onto streaming platforms in our general release. Support the show Subscribe to the newsletter for weekly episodes: https://bit.ly/WitnessUnderground Watch now: http://Wi...
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7TILtTd4lIY The Bloody Tuesdays, David Quesada, has been an excellent collaborative partner since the day we met. After we met and recorded our episodes together, I had another opportunity to edit our feature documentary, Witness Underground, which we discussed in this episode, and I cut into the intro, a moment from one of his songs, Jehovah Never Knows, from his sophomore album, Hymns of a Millenials Dawn. I'm excited for you to hear it and I...
🎵 Join us in this impactful interview highlighting Valentine's three-album set: Go Die, Your Old Bones, and I Am Tyrant. These albums intricately weave together his escape from a repressive faith group and his triumphant emergence into newfound liberation. Our conversation is soundtracked by all three albums and all of his b-sides and singles! 🎵 🔔 Stay Engaged 🔔 Follow Blueskys: Spotify - Blue Skys Three albums B-Sides: SoundClick Instagram - @Valejio Watch XJW Coming Out series epis...
Join Jonam Ross, a renowned hypnotherapist and host of the Religion Rehab podcast, as he engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Scott Homan, the documentary director behind Witness Underground. Both Scott and Jonam share their personal experiences as ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, shedding light on the dystopian reality of the cult and their journey toward freedom and recovery and now serving the ex-cult community with assistance in recovery. Witness Underground, an eye-opening cult docum...
Links discussed and posted in the discussion: The Witness Underground Documentary Project: https://WitnessUnderground.com Watch & Support these ExJW artists: https://Patreon.com/WitnessUnderground Listen to the music: http://WitnessUnderground.com/Art http://Vaureenband.com We're back again with another excellent Q&A featuring the artists highlighted in the feature documentary Witness Underground. One of our guests highlights the power of music and self expression to transform an...
After watching the thought-provoking documentary "Witness Underground," Three artists: an actor, a writer, and a musician, engage in a profound conversation about their personal experiences with shunning and how they navigate through it. Join us as we explore the transformative power of art, music, therapy, movement, and meditation in coping while inside and healing after leaving a cult. Together, we'll embark on a remarkable exploration of consciousness and creativity. https://witnessunderg...
WitnessUnderground.com Ver el documental aca: Patreon.com/WitnessUnderground Bienvenidos a Witness Underground, el podcast donde hablamos con personas que han dejado la secta peligrosa de los Testigos de Jehová. En este episodio, entrevistamos a una mujer, Leidy, de Panamá que comparte su historia de cómo dejó el secta y cómo ha mejorado su vida desde entonces. Nuestra invitada nos habla sobre su relación en evolución con su madre y sus hermanos que aún están dentro de la secta, y el abuso ...
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