In the Realm of Death and Dreaming is a documentary film that asks the big question: Does consciousness continue after death, or is it lights out?
Director Johanna Lunn guides viewers on a journey to find answers by, exploring personal stories of near-death experiences, deathbed visions and more. She speaks with the leading clinicians and researchers who have spent their careers studying these experiences and the nature of consciousness. Their stories are revealed with humor and compassion.
Exploring what happens after death not only helps us decide how we want to be cared for at the end of life, but it reduces our fear of death and that, as is often said, helps us live more fully.
Director's Notes
Over a two-and-a-half-year period, starting when I was 19, three very significant deaths appeared in my life that completely cracked my world apart. Because people didn’t know how to talk about death, I felt isolated, ghost-like. Talking about death was really taboo at that time. Although it was difficult for me, on reflection and with the advantage of time passing, I realize now how hard it must be for the dying when the people who love them most are afraid to talk with them.
My hope is that people walk away from this film asking themselves, “What do I think about all this? What do I want when I die?” My goal is not to tell people how or what to think, but to encourage the dialog, the questions and even, perhaps, some answers. To make conversations about death a normal thing, that happens before we enter the final journey, and not something that occurs because we are unexpectedly thrust into the situation of having to talk about it.
Johanna J. Lunn
DIRECTOR/ PRODUCER
Award-winning producer, director, and writer, Johanna has crafted, and assisted in crafting, many compelling, entertaining, and profoundly thought-provoking programs during her 20+ years in the business. Her work has received eight Gemini (Canadian equivalent of an Emmy) nominations and taken home three awards. In addition to producing more than 150 hours of television series and one-offs as an in-house executive producer, she has made independent documentaries for her own companies, Wild East Productions and Centre East Media, and won best documentary at Hot Docs International Film Festival for her moving and timely film, Forgiveness: Stories for Our Time. She has worked as Director of Programming for Alliance Atlantis and played a key role in the launch of IFC—The Independent Film Channel Canada. Prior to that, Johanna was Head of Independent Production for CTV, Canada’s #1 network. She created View-finders, the first competitive international children’s film festival in English-speaking Canada, and was Artistic Director of the Atlantic Film Festival. Years of programming and producing have honed her storytelling talents. Johanna’s most recent documentary, An Uncommon King, is still making its way around the world through festivals and iTunes.
