The breaking point is the making point. Through the lens of the heroes journey, we examine how each person turns tragedy into an opportunity to create more joyful and meaningful lives.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CONSTANCE BRENNEMAN

How and why did you become a documentary filmmaker?
Exploring the human experience is my primary interest as a person and as a filmmaker. I've always been excited by stories and how they connect us. Becoming a documentary filmmaker allowed me to dig deeper into understanding our humanness while synthesizing these findings into a compelling story.

What makes a good documentary?

I love when life’s moments, like looking at the night’s sky, make me feel both small and infinite, the awe of something that is tangible and otherworldly simultaneously. A good documentary is when I walk away from it with a satisfied heart, with a satisfied brain and with a sense of awe.

Why did you make Finding Inner Hero and what were the key challenges you faced making the film?

Finding Inner Hero features six people who go from the breaking point to redefining their lives to be lived in a clearer and more authentic way. Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey is used as the through line, depicting that although our circumstances may appear quite different on the surface, the lessons and stages of growth we experience are unifying.

I made the film because the subject interested me, how we are all extremely different on the outside with similar journeys and internal experiences. The primary challenge faced while making the film was in carving out the story, post-production/editing was the greatest challenge by far.

What's next for you? What projects are you currently working on?

Currently, I'm working on two different documentary projects.

Built Different features 12-year-old Paige Calendine. Paige was born without legs. She's decided that this limitation won't define her life. Paige competes at state and national competitions against "normal" bodied kids in both archery and gymnastics. Her mom, Heidi, says that Paige is "Built Different" not because of her disability, but based on Paige’s determination, her resiliency and courage.

Pursuit of an Afterlife is a documentary that explores Near Death and Shared Death studies. Death phenomena generally involve glimpses of an alternative reality that experiencers and researchers reference as being components of a potential afterlife. In this documentary, death phenomena research, including peer-reviewed and published data, will be melded with heartfelt, otherworldly stories shared by death phenomena experiencers around the world and across generations.