top of page
The Elephant FILM
Team
SAMEER PATEL
SAMEER IS A FILMMAKER AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE ELEPHANT COLLECTIVE.
IN 2018, HE HELPED LAUNCH THE KUNDALINI COLLECTIVE, A SPACE FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING NON-ORDINARY TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES (NOTES). THROUGH MEETING MANY INDIVIDUALS ON THIS PATH, HE BEGAN TO SENSE A BROADER SHIFT—ONE THAT WASN’T FULLY CAPTURED BY TRADITIONAL MYSTICAL TRADITIONS. THIS REALISATION LED HIM TO CO-FOUND THE ELEPHANT COLLECTIVE, WITH THE AIM OF 'MOVING THE OVERTON WINDOW' OR EXPANDING THE CONVERSATION AROUND THESE EXPERIENCES AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR US AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A SOCIETY.
SAMEER'S OWN KUNDALINI AWAKENING IN 2006 WAS A PROFOUND TURNING POINT. IT RESHAPED HIS UNDERSTANDING OF HIMSELF AND THE WORLD, PROMPTING HIM TO SEEK OUT SPIRITUAL AND SHAMANIC TRADITIONS ACROSS THE WORLD. DURING THIS PERIOD, HE CAME TO REALISE JUST HOW PROFOUNDLY CHALLENGING IT WAS TO LEAD A NORMAL LIFE WITHOUT A SOCIETAL FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT THESE EXPERIENCES. ON THE UPSIDE, HE ALSO BEGAN TO RECOGNISE HOW THESE EXPERIENCES COULD FACILITATE THE HEALING OF HIS OWN TRAUMA IN A WAY THAT NO THERAPY EVER COULD. THIS DEEP UNDERSTANDING LED HIM TO BELIEVE THAT 'NOTES', IF BETTER UNDERSTOOD, COULD PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN POWERFUL COLLECTIVE HEALING.
BEFORE THIS TRANSITION, HE STUDIED ECONOMICS AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND PURSUED A CAREER IN THE CITY. HE LATER SHIFTED TO INDEPENDENT FILM FINANCING, OPTIONING, AND DEVELOPING SCRIPTS IN THE UK. HOWEVER, HIS KUNDALINI AWAKENING PROMPTED A PROFOUND CHANGE, LEADING HIM TO LEAVE HIS CAREER AND SPEND TWO YEARS TRAVELLING TO INTEGRATE THE EXPERIENCE.
THIS GUIDED HIM TO A MORE CREATIVE PATH EARNING AN 'MA' IN FILMMAKING FROM THE LONDON FILM SCHOOL. SINCE THEN HE HAS PRODUCED AND DIRECTED A WIDE RANGE OF PROJECTS. HIS WORK HAS BEEN ACQUIRED AND DISTRIBUTED BY COMPANIES LIKE SONY AND SKY ARTS AND HAS SCREENED AT FESTIVALS SUCH AS PALM SPRINGS.
MOST RECENTLY, HE PRODUCED HIS FIRST FEATURE FILM—A BRITISH-IRANIAN ADAPTATION OF A FASSBINDER FILM CALLED 'THE BITTER TEARS OF ZAHRA ZAND'.
NOW, HE’S FOCUSED ON FILMING 'THE ELEPHANT' SERIES, AS WELL AS DEVELOPING NEW PROJECTS.
KATIE MOTTRAM
KATIE MOTTRAM IS A LEADING MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE, AUTHOR, AND PROJECT FOUNDER WITH OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
FRUSTRATED BY CONVENTIONAL MENTAL HEALTH MODELS, KATIE HAS DEDICATED HER CAREER TO INTEGRATING HOLISTIC AND TRANSPERSONAL APPROACHES INTO MAINSTREAM CARE. HER WORK BRIDGES THE GAP BETWEEN WESTERN MENTAL HEALTH PARADIGMS AND SPIRITUALITY, CHAMPIONING THE VIEW THAT MENTAL DISTRESS CAN SERVE AS A NATURAL CATALYST FOR TRANSFORMATION.
KATIE FOUNDED THE GLOBAL EMERGING PROUD CAMPAIGN IN 2017, INSPIRED BY HER OWN LIVED EXPERIENCE OF SUICIDALITY AND PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION. THIS INITIATIVE AMPLIFIES STORIES OF INDIVIDUALS REFRAMING CRISES AS OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH.
AS A CO-FOUNDER OF THE ELEPHANT COLLECTIVE CIC, SHE HOSTS A COMMUNITY PLATFORM THAT EXPLORES NON-ORDINARY STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES, ADDRESSING ISOLATION AND FOSTERING CONNECTION.
A FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPIRITUAL EMERGENCE NETWORK (ISEN) AND A BOARD MEMBER OF THE SOTERIA NETWORK, KATIE HAS LONG BEEN A VOCAL ADVOCATE FOR REIMAGINING EXTREME STATES AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISES AS OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONAL EVOLUTION.
IN 2024, SHE COMPLETED HEURISTIC RESEARCH, IS THERE MEANING IN MADNESS?, WHICH AIMS TO INTEGRATE TRANSPERSONAL PERSPECTIVES INTO CLINICAL SETTINGS, REDUCING PATHOLOGISATION AND PROMOTING A MORE HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH TO HEALING.
KATIE ALSO CO-PRODUCED THE DOCU-SERIES A CALL TO AWAKENING WITH SAMEER PATEL, AND THEY ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY, THE ELEPHANT, REFLECTING THE BELIEF IN THE TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIAL OF ANOMALOUS EXPERIENCES.
AS AN ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT FOR IMROC, KATIE CONTRIBUTES TO LIVED-EXPERIENCE-LED TRAINING INITIATIVES THAT FOSTER UNDERSTANDING AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE.
THROUGH HER MULTIFACETED EFFORTS, KATIE CONTINUES TO ADVOCATE FOR A PARADIGM SHIFT IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE, FOSTERING HEALING, CONNECTION, AND EMPOWERMENT.
bottom of page