Award-Winning Documentary Takes Viewers on Spiritual Pilgrimage of India, Guided by Hardcore Punk Rock Star and Ex-Monk Ray Cappo
Thomas Essig’s Something Divine, a new documentary feature that takes viewers on a spiritual pilgrimage of India guided by punk rock icon and former monk Ray Cappo (aka Raghunath), will have its world digital premiere on October 1st on Entertainment Oxygen’s eoFlix, a leading digital platform specializing in networking and content distribution for the global entertainment industry.
“I was very happy to collaborate with Apple TungFong and her team,” says Essig. “Finding the right distribution partner is vital to the success of an indie film, and I’m very confident that Entertainment Oxygen will provide the support we need to reach audiences around the world interested in experiencing spirituality and a music culture coming together to create a unique understanding of life.”
“Something Divine is exactly the type of quality film content and subject matter that will appeal to our viewers around the globe,” adds Apple TungFong, founder/CEO, Entertainment Oxygen/eoFlix. “We look forward to assist in promoting the film and its message via our marketing and social media channels as we lead up to the October 1st launch.”
In the film, Ray Cappo, the lead singer of the straight edge hardcore band Youth of Today, who at the height of its growing popularity, leaves the band and travels to India. Ray goes from punk artist and becomes the Monk Raghunath. What follows is the confluence of two opposites, hardcore punk and spirituality. The film follows a pilgrimage guided by Raghunath through the holy cities of India, chronicling a spiritual journey of transformation.
In 2017, Essig first went on pilgrimage to India with Monk Raghunath. What he believed was to be a yoga trip, was in fact a journey into yogic philosophy and transformation of oneself – the catalyst that forever changed his life.
He comments, “During those two weeks I saw not only yoga people on the trip, but hardcore punk fans who were there to be with Ray Cappo [Raghunath] who they idolize. What caught my attention was how similar the ideologies of straight edge hardcore punk and spirituality are. I saw two opposite groups come together in harmony, supporting each other in change, growth, and a belief in God that was inspiring.”
Also appearing in the film are Moby, and Cappo’s bandmates John “Porcell” Porcelly and Sammy Siegler, Kirtan singer Madhava Naidoo, and Kumi Yogini, founder of LA’s Veda Yoga, among others.
To date, the film has garnered top festival honors, receiving the Award of Excellence at the Impact Doc Awards in Los Angeles, and the New Filmmaker Award at the World Music and International Film Festival in Washington, DC, and was nominated for Sound on Screen and Best New Film Maker Award at Thin Line Fest in Texas, named Official Selection of the Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival, and Finalist of the Prague International Film Awards. Most recently, the film was featured at the Lonely Seal Film Festival in Arlington, Massachusetts.
About Thomas Essig – Thomas Essig is an American film producer, musician, audio engineer, and actor. His career in film began in 2017 with the production of the short, titled Drive. His first feature, the documentary Something Divine has made him an award-winning first-time director and filmmaker.
He is the executive producer for the critically acclaimed film Go/Don’t Go (2021) and co-Executive Producer for the award-winning short Through the Stars (2023).
An accomplished international recording artist (Stick Shift Yaya’s), Thomas is a multi-instrumentalist who writes, produces, and records his own material. He also composes scores for films and was the audio engineer for Something Divine.
In addition to appearing in film and TV, he also spent several seasons performing in theatre in upstate New York at the Rhinebeck Centre of the Arts.
About Ray “Raghunath” Cappo – As a teen in the 80s, Ray “Raghunath” Cappo founded the hardcore punk band Youth of Today, which championed the principles of clean living, vegetarianism, and self-control. After experiencing a spiritual awakening in India, he formed a new band, Shelter, devoted to spreading a message of hope through spiritual connection. Ray currently leads yoga retreats, trainings, and kirtans at his Supersoul Farm retreat center in Upstate New York, as well as annual pilgrimages to India. He is the co-founder and co-host of Wisdom of the Sages, a daily yoga podcast that has been ranked #1 on Apple for podcasts about spirituality. He is the author of the recently released, bestselling book From Punk To Monk – A Memoir: The Spiritual Journey Of Ray Raghunath Cappo.
About Entertainment Oxygen/eoFlix – Founded in 2021, Entertainment Oxygen, featuring the unprecedented digital ecosystem eoFlix, is currently the only service that combines film festivals’ virtual screening hybrid solutions with direct networking, allowing users to interact with content creators. The platform provides a global community that empowers entertainers, executives, and all other media professionals to showcase their creative skills and streamline the process from script to screen in ways never before imagined. Filmmakers can easily link the cast and crew with their film portfolios and create an interactive network to transform the way entertainment industry professionals connect around the world. The eo on demand feature is crafted with care and designed specifically for independent movies, unlocking their potential by generating revenue.