Emerging Filmmakers Showcase: ‘Something Divine’
March 29 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The Lindsay’s second Emerging Filmmakers Showcase in March is a local documentarian’s enlightening new film about a hardcore musician’s spiritual transformation.
Something Divine is a globe-trotting documentary centered around Raghunath, aka Youth of Today and Shelter lead singer Ray Cappo. This straight-edge hardcore icon embarked on a life-changing journey to India at the height of his musical popularity. Raghunath guides director Thomas Essig on an excursion throughout India while exploring how his punk and monk identities can exist together in spiritual harmony.
The public premiere of Something Divine will take place at The Lindsay on Sunday, March 29, at 1 p.m. Essig, a Butler County-based filmmaker, will be at the Theater for an in-person Q&A following the screening. Tickets are free, and we recommend reserving seats in advance via the below RSVP form due to space limitations.
“The film is designed to make you feel like you are in India and in those venues with Youth of Today and Shelter,” says Essig. “This is not your typical spirituality documentary. It’s just truth. There is no one sitting on a mountain telling you the secret to life, however you may find your truth.”
Essig is a New York City native who first moved to Butler in 1992. He went back to the Empire State in 1999 and didn’t return to Western Pennsylvania until 2022. His film career kicked off in 2017. Music was Essig’s first love, and his resumé includes serving as the drummer for Pittsburgh band The Prestons in the mid-1990s.
Before Something Divine, Essig knew Raghunath only as a local yoga teacher in the Hudson, N.Y., area. A former girlfriend went on a pilgrimage to India with Raghunath in 2016, and she informed Essig about his rock-star alter ego.
“I had no idea!” recalls Essig. “She described how hardcore punk fans, yoga students and regular Joes went to India to participate in spiritual practices. I found it fascinating that people from all walks of life come together for a two-week trip diving into spirituality.”
He remembered flippantly saying at the time, “How come nobody has ever made a movie about this?” After going on his first pilgrimage to India with Raghunath in 2017, Essig realized that this experience allowed lost souls to seek their own “connection to the divine.” Essig has now made nine trips to India.
Something Divine was filmed in 2019 and has since played at festivals and private screenings. The Lindsay is hosting the film’s first public theatrical showing. Its PVOD release is set for March 27 on platforms such as Prime Video, Apple TV and Roku.
Essig appreciates The Lindsay for “bringing independent film to the community” with programs like the Theater’s Emerging Filmmakers Showcase. He hopes folks in this region take advantage of an opportunity to watch “a beautifully shot film about people trying to fix something broken in themselves” on the big screen.
“Something Divine turned into a project from my heart,” he says. “I can’t wait to convey this unique experience to the rest of the world.”
