Balian (The Healer)

A film fifteen years in the making follows three Balian
(Balinese traditional healers)
over time and through triumph and tragedy.

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"A magical portrait of a one-of-a-kind Indonesian trickster/healer."

Alan Berliner (Nobody's Business, Wide Awake, The Sweetest Sound)


"It's surreal, poignant and utterly surprising."

Michel Negroponte (Jupiter's Wife, I'm Dangerous with Love)

Images from the Film

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About the Project

The Film

Legendary filmmaker Alan Berliner saw an early cut of BALIAN and had a few things to say about it. Check out some thoughts he had on Balian here.

The Filmmaker

Daniel McGuire is the director of BALIAN (THE HEALER), a film Alan Berliner called "A magical portrait of a one-of-a-kind Indonesian trickster/healer." Dan's short documentary DUNK TANK CLOWNS (2014) screened at DOCNYC. It won Best Documentary at the Coney Island Film Festival and Audience Award at the New England Online Film Festival. His first feature documentary, CRASH COURSE: THE INDONESIAN STUDENT REVOLT (1999) was funded in part by the Open Society Foundation. He was formerly a correspondent for ABC news in Indonesia, and has worked as a field producer for most major news outlets. He has a BA from Wesleyan University, an MA from Northern Illinois University, and an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He is married to Dr. Injil Abu Bakar and has two daughters.

Visit Dan's personal website here.

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Contact

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Blog

Interview on Why Shamanism Now Radio, July 26, 11:00 AM PST

Interview on Why Shamanism Now Radio, July 26, 11:00 AM PST Sacred Balinese Healing Practices meet Globalization with Daniel McGuire “Balian,” a documentary by filmmaker, Dan McGuire, tells the story of the rise and fall of a charismatic Balinese shaman (or “Balian”) named Mangku Pogog. In Bali healers enter powerful trance states in which they […]

Balinese Zodiac

There are 35 different “signs” in the Balinese Zodiac. Here’s a pretty good explanation. I’ll pass along more info soon – like the best way to do the calculations to figure out your own sign. This site purports to do it for you, but I’m not sure they’ve got the right algorithm.

Did Mangku Pogog invent “Partner Yoga”?

Partner Yoga is a fairly big area of the yoga world. I’ve always wondered where it came from, or if it is a new creation. The earliest photographic evidence I am aware of is the 1938 Krishnamacharya film (2:45 in point) , which is available on youtube. Did Krishnamacharya invent this? Or was it passed […]