My name is Mani García. On May 28th 1973 my first life began. It ended abruptly on August 1st 2002 when I decided to leave the only life I had ever known – my life as a Jehovah’s Witness. When you are a Jehovah’s Witness you are not merely a member of a religion – it’s your culture, your identity, your language – all you are and all you know. And if you leave you leave you leave it all – your culture, your identity, your language, your friends and family – all you are and all you know.

Facing the realities and challenges of my new life, I developed a fascination with the power of belief. I am captivated with how deeply what we believe works to shape our individual identities, our society, and our human experience as a whole. In 2006 I began a research film project originally entitled “Persuasion”. Over the past four years this project has taken me on an incredible journey, led me to some amazing people, and transformed me in ways I could never have imagined. As a result the project also evolved into a documentary miniseries entitled “Belief.”

On April 14th, 2010 at 4:30 PM, was the official premier of "Belief." Episode 1, entitled "Sacred Ground," was shown at the Humanities Institute at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY. Episode 1 can be seen and downloaded at no cost on my website beliefdocumentary.com and will be available at no cost on DVD soon. I have begun work on Episode 2.

~ Mani