You know the question “If your life was a book, would anyone want to read it?” It’s sort of an annoying and anxiety-inducing one, no? And the same goes for film — how long would a documentary chronicling your life be, and how captivating is the narrative in which some beautiful celebrity plays you? At Vimeo, it’s the job of the curation team to be the decider — is a story gripping or fascinating? This week’s Staff Pick Premiere chronicles a life that was seemingly lifted from the yellowed pages of a fantasy novel. “The Wizard Oz” is a portrait of writer, speaker, and religious leader Oberon Zell-Ravenheart (born Timothy Zell) who whimsically stretches the limits of reality. On his quest for magic (or “magick” as he spells it), he has created real unicorns and a communal community fueled by openness and curiosity. He also unapologetically pursued a multiple-partner lifestyle — his late beloved wife, Morning Glory, actually coined the term “polyamory.” Imagine living your life never doubting that magic is real. Knowing this, you test the boundaries of society’s norms, changing them forever. That is what makes Oz a real wizard.
After reading a Vice piece on Oberon’s Grey School of Wizardry, Pittsburgh-based filmmaker Danny Yourd was fascinated by Oz’s Neopaganist teachings: “His life story flowed like a fairy tale — it was so strange and bizarre, but also human and fascinating.” After the production company Animal joined up with him to pursue a film about Oz, Yourd assembled a small film crew and flew to Santa Cruz, California. “I originally thought this was going to be a five to six minute documentary, but the more I learned, the bigger the story got.” The question of whether Oz’s story was interesting enough for a book had already been answered in this case, as Oz has penned a 432 page memoir of his life, which Yourd pored over before the film project began. The wizard himself also sent packages to Yourd’s door: boxes filled with photos, videos, and documents, including 30 tapes from Oz’s mermaid excursion. Did I mention there’s a mermaid expedition in this film?
Told through a combination of archival footage (thanks in part to a woman who filmed Oz’s “Church of All Worlds” commune in 1985) and extensive interviews with the unreserved and brilliant Oberon, this story is fascinating. It stands as a testament to the fullness of a life lived without society’s limitations, and stresses the utmost importance of love and respect between people and the natural world. About the experience, Danny says: “Without a doubt Oz was one of the most, if not the most, fascinating and unique individuals I have ever met. To a certain degree I expected to get there and interview him and get some answers that were not rooted in any reality. But what I found was very intelligent and grounded answers that, even as someone on the outside, I could understand in some form.”
Here are some other interesting tidbits around the making of “The Wizard Oz” that didn’t make it into the film, courtesy of director Danny Yourd:
- Oz and Morning Glory raised many unicorns and named them after Knights of the Round Table.
- They were not allowed to discuss the unicorn deal they had with Ringling Bros. Circus, but they held the patent on the process for many years.
- After the mermaid expedition (funded by the successful unicorn deal with the circus), Oberon had to sell most of this scuba gear just to get back home.
- Oz has had seven possums as pets. He loves possums and believes they make great pets.
- The Church of All Worlds has one rule: “Be excellent to one another.” Oz openly admits that this comes from the Bill & Ted movies and says, “When you got that down, what else do you need?”
Thank you, Danny and team, for making this film and sharing Oz’s extraordinary story with us!Check out more of Vimeo’s Staff Pick Premieres here.