When I talk about the defining characteristics of Spiritual Cinema, the keystone is always the quality of helping us feel better about being human. It’s such a simple concept, isn’t it? Unfortunately, so few films coming out of Hollywood actually meet that standard. Have you seen any studio films this summer that fit that bill? I haven’t; however, there is at least one reason to stand up and cheer: a small, independent film named Mad Hot Ballroom.

Ballroom is the most recent example of the evolution of the entertainment potential of documentaries. Filmmakers who before might have focused their prodigious story-telling talents on feature films are now telling compelling and inspiring stories in documentary form and we, the audience, are being treated to some new and wonderful visions of who we can be as a humanity when we operate at our very best.

The story of Ballroom centers on a program for 5th graders in New York schools which actually requires the kids to at least participate in a ballroom dancing program. Those who excel become part of the school team that competes in an area-wide competition, leading to the ultimate crowning of a championship team. The film follows several teams of 10-year-olds as they begin their tentative “steps” in dances such as the swing and the rumba and, most importantly, it illustrates how the program itself elevates the awareness of the young people to teamwork, etiquette, peer respect and discipline.

The film is also a beautiful and inspiring portrait of the unsung, underpaid and under-appreciated teachers who every day lead our children into their futures. The teachers in Mad Hot Ballroom seem acutely aware of the positive potential of their young students and every frame of the film is a fitting tribute to those teachers who care so deeply for and believe so completely in the young people whose lives they help mold every day.

I smiled and cried and laughed all the way through Mad Hot Ballroom and, as far as I am concerned, it is the film of the summer that no one should miss.

Mad Hot Ballroom is a film from the depth of her heart. Most importantly, we have the real children of our beautiful world and their dedicated and inspiring teachers, as depicted in Mad Hot Ballroom, to inspire us to see the beauty and potential of our humanity. As long as there are people such as these who devote their lives to teaching and leading our children... and as long as there are young people who strive to be the best that they can be... we will continue to evolve into the exalted state of our humanity of which we have always dreamed.

Stephen Simon produced such films as Somewhere in Time and What Dreams May Come, produced and directed Indigo and will next be directing and producing the film version of Neale Donald Walsch’s Conversations with God. He also co-founded The Spiritual Cinema Circle www.spiritualcinemacircle.com. Stephen welcomes your comments by email at Stephen@spiritualcinemacircle.com.