Melissa Ward

A best-selling author for 30 years, Carlos Castaneda inspired millions to break free from social dogma, fueling controversy over his work's authenticity and assertions of perceiving non-ordinary reality. Genius, guru, cult leader or fraud? No one really knows. Over three years in the making, this shocking expose explores Castaneda's mythic impact and controversial teachings. Candid interviews backed with dazzling experimental footage offer and intense visual and intellectual experience.

Carlos Castaneda, sixties author and ‘celebrated godfather of New Age’ died in his Los Angeles home in 1998. Five women forming his ‘harem’ disappeared within days. In 2004, bones are found at the edge of Death Valley belonging to one of the disappeared women. In a series of Californian road trips, filmmaker Minou Norouzi reflects on what the women’s obsession with Castaneda may have been and begins to wonder if her own life isn’t mirroring theirs. She meets a concoction of Castaneda associates who are all invested in telling her about Castaneda, whilst the story of the women remains in shadow.