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Logline

Seekers: a groundbreaking five-episode documentary series for television dedicated to Transcendental Meditation (TM) and all its facets. TM has been taught for sixty years reaching over 100 countries. Millions of TM practitioners attest to the improvements they experience from this technique. This first comprehensive series of its kind provides audiences with an in-depth exploration of TM, delving into its origins, principles, impact, challenges, and the diverse experiences of practitioners and observers alike.

Synopsis

Seekers explores the rise, impact, and challenges of Transcendental Meditation, one of the most influential and debated meditation practices of modern times. Through exclusive interviews, rare archival footage, and expert analysis, the series unravels TM’s journey from an obscure spiritual technique to a global movement embraced by celebrities, scientists, and millions of practitioners—while also facing skepticism and scrutiny.

The story’s heart is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the enigmatic guru who introduced TM to the West in the late 1950s. His teachings gained worldwide attention in 1968 when The Beatles, famously traveled to his ashram in India. This moment marked TM’s explosion into the mainstream, attracting figures like David Lynch, Tom Hanks, Mike Love, Mia Farrow Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman and Oprah Winfrey.

The series follows Maharishi’s transformation from a unknown Hindu monk to an international celebrity, exploring how his charisma and vision turned TM into a practice of self-discovery, a treatment of trauma and toxic stress and a powerful global organization.

Interwoven with this narrative are the perspectives of scientists, practitioners, and observers who have studied or experienced Transcendental Meditation firsthand. Dr. Andres Canal-Johnson and Nobel Laureate Brian David Josephson of the University of Cambridge examine the scientific claims of stress reduction and improved health. Personal stories from war veterans, business leaders, and students reveal the deeply individual impact of the practice—some finding profound transformation.

The series follows a compelling trajectory, beginning with the promise of Transcendental Meditation and its rapid adoption among seekers of peace and enlightenment.

Ultimately, Seekers culminates in a broader reflection on the modern pursuit of meaning and well-being. Through captivating storytelling and a balanced examination of different viewpoints, Seekers offers a thought-provoking exploration of a movement that has shaped the way the world understands meditation and the search for personal inner peace.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Max Lewkowicz — Director
Max Lewkowicz, founder and owner of Dog Green Productions, has written, directed, and produced hundreds of productions for network and public television, museums, and multinational organizations in a career that has spanned over twenty-five years.

Mr. Lewkowicz’s documentary works include award-winning films about the mercury pollution affecting Native American tribes in Northern Canada, the Dance Theater of Harlem, the generational cycles of poverty in America’s inner cities, Nelson Mandela’s struggle against Apartheid in South Africa.

In addition, Mr. Lewkowicz has written, produced and directed museum exhibition films and interactive presentations domestically and internationally. His works in this area include the media for the core exhibits of Normandy American Cemetery Visitor Center and the Pointe du Hoc Visitor Center, The Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York, The South Africa Heritage Museum, and the Montreal Memorial Holocaust Center.

Lewkowicz has won critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Silver Screen Award in the U.S. International Film and Video Festival, the grand prize of The Chicago International Film Festival.

Mr. Lewkowicz is a graduate of McGill University and has a Masters Degree in Communications from New York University.

Keith Erling Thompson — Producer
Mr. Thompson is the president, founder and owner of Magnus Features Inc, a film production company, founded in 2025, and Public Broadcast Marketing Inc., founded in 1986. Public Broadcast Marketing Inc., PBM, provides national marketing, sales, program production, distribution, and advertising buying services. Clients include leading national advertising and public relations agencies, US corporations and media companies.

Mr. Thompson is the Executive Producer and Producer for several national programs appearing on PBS television stations. These include: Cinema, a weekly film news program, On Tour, a series of 13 stadium staged music performances, Mission Mars, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s spaceship landing on Mars, and two Telly Award winning travel programs: My Hong Kong and Welcome to Taiwan. He has funded, produced and distributed nationally on PBS three programs about Transcendental Meditation: Democracy 1996, The International Natural Law Party, and Conversation with Maharishi, a post 911 Special.

Prior to his founding Public Broadcast Marketing Inc. Mr. Thompson spent five years personally studying with Maharishi.

Scott Shelley — Director of Photography
Scott Shelley is a cinematographer and producer with 19 years of experience in documentary, television and independent feature films. Scott received his MFA from California Institute of the Arts and has two nominations and one National Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Cinematography.

Mr. Shelley started as an editor and later producer for the UN Center Against Apartheid, UNTV and Unicef producing stories for CNN, and full-length documentaries distributed worldwide. Other documentaries he has shot include Primal Contact for A&E, Song of the Refugee for PBS and David Novack’s American Coal. He has worked in over 60 countries, often in remote areas under difficult circumstances. His television career includes 8 seasons as a principal cinematographer for Jerry Bruckheimer’s The Amazing Race. Scott was also the Director of Photography for two television series produced by Phil Keoghan: Adventure Crazy and No Opportunity Wasted. NOW is a 13-hour series shot in HD for The Discovery Channel, and won the Hor Concours at the Banff Television Festival in 2005.

Joseph Borruso — Supervising Editor
Joseph Borruso has edited and post-supervised numerous documentaries for HBO, and PBS, including Slumming It: Myth and Culture on the Bowery, Kindergarten, 27th & Prospect, The Telephone and UNDER-FIRE: The Untold Story of Pfc. Tony Vaccaro. He has also edited the theatrically released documentary Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles as well as The Sit-in: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show and The Rebellious Life Of Ms. Rosa Parks, both for NBC’s streaming service Peacock. Additionally, he has edited TV and radio spots for Public Television’s Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! series. Along with his broadcast work, Mr. Borruso has edited films and videos for museums and the private sector, including The Decatur House Museum, The Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, The Maltz Museum, The Jamestown Museum, The Normandy American Visitor Center and the Pointe du Hoc Visitor Center. His editing also encompasses short narrative films including Someone to Love, the winner of the Audience Choice Award for Best Independent Drama at the DaVinci Film and Video Festival.

Mr. Borruso graduated with honors from New York University, Tisch School of The Arts, where he majored in film and television and minored in history.

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Contact

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