Act of God

Act of God is a 2009 Canadian documentary film that investigates the "metaphysical" effects of being struck by lightning. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes) and distributed by Zeitgeist Films. The film's world premier was at the 2009 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto on 30 April 2009. It went on general release in Canada on 1 May 2009, and limited release in the United States on 31 July 2009. The film's European premiere was at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on 11 July 2009. Overview In Act of God director Jennifer Baichwal questions whether being struck by lightning is a "random natural occurrence or a predestined event". The film contains seven stories in which Baichwal interviews people about their personal experiences with lightning strikes. She speaks to American novelist and screenwriter Paul Auster, Canadian dramatist James O'Reilly, and US Marine veteran and author Dannion Brinkley. She also interviews a storm chaser in France, and a group of Mexican mothers who accept the loss of their children to lightning at a religious festival as "God's will". She also investigates a Yoruba religious community in Rwanda (the lightning capital of the world) who worship the lightning god Shango. The reactions in each of Baichwal's subjects varies considerably, from an "act of God" to the "mechanics of reality". Auster, the "philosophical anchor of the film", relates how he saw his friend being struck by lightning a short distance from him at a summer camp. Auster, 14 years old at the time, survived the incident while his friend died. Auster said "It opened up a whole realm of speculation that I've continued to live with ever since." Yet in spite of the deep effect this event had on him, Auster insists in the film that it was "nothing more than a random occurrence". O'Reilly wrote a play called Act of God which was based on his experience with lightning in South River, Ontario in 1979. In the film O'Reilly says "I can't accept that it happened for a reason, nor can I really accept that there is no reason. The only way to carry on is to be humble, and a little bit in awe of these things you can't really understand." Brinkley was also struck by lightning and described it as "dying for 28 minutes and going up to heaven and having a completely life-transforming experience."