This movie is about ADHD - more or less -

The Light, the Land, and the Wild Mind: A Journey with David

In July 2023, Lightbath returned to the Liminal Land Retreat at Cae Mabon in Wales. It was a beautiful gathering focused on lucid dreaming, breathwork, and immersive light experiences.

Just three days before the retreat began, my father passed away. Our relationship had been complicated. He was a complex man, serious and often stern, not someone who laughed at himself easily. His death marked the end of a chapter. Interestingly, exactly one year earlier, Lightbath had also been part of the Liminal Retreat 2022, and I remember feeling his energy strongly during that time. Living close to nature, building fires and sleeping under the trees, brought back vivid memories. It grounded me in my roots and reminded me of the many ways he shaped who I am.

Returning in 2023, knowing how present his energy had felt the year before, left me with a strange softness in my gut. Then, just days after his passing, the synchronicities began.

One of the first people I met in the car park was David. I couldn’t believe it. He looked almost exactly like my father. Same artistic aura. Same rhythm in his speech. The same tendency to wander off-track in his stories. But unlike my father, David was warm, funny, and inviting. No need to walk on eggshells. His humour was uplifting, his presence magnetic. Meeting him was like being given an alternate version of my father, one with lightness and love.

If you're curious about that retreat, I made a short film about it back then. It's a beautiful glimpse into that strange, synchronistic time.

Exploring the Depths | A Transformative Retreat at Cae Mabon | LiBa Lightbath @Liminal Land Retreat

A Visit to the Edge of the World

A few months later, I visited David at his remote cottage in the North Pennines, a place so secluded it feels like the end of the world. The idea was to spend three days with him, filming a short documentary about how he uses the LiBa light, his life, and his art.

At the time, everything seemed fine on the surface, but once I got home and started editing, something became clear. David hadn’t been in a good mental space. The house was a mess. The weather had been relentless. And somehow, all of that soaked into the footage. It didn’t feel right. Out of respect for my friend, I decided to shelve the project.

But David’s story stayed with me.

In the meantime, I began receiving more and more feedback from people using Loom to manage ADHD symptoms. I also connected with Vadim Kunst, a Russian light and sound therapist, who developed a detailed protocol using light therapy for children with ADHD and special needs. That brought the idea of revisiting the project back to life.

Return to the North

I reached out to David again, not sure what to expect. I assumed I’d find him in the same state I had left him months earlier, so I also planned to include other voices in the film, possibly Vadim’s or others’, to help carry the story.

My trip was postponed a few times and finally happened a month later than expected. When I arrived, again in the middle of nowhere, I was overjoyed to find my friend had undergone a complete transformation.

The weather was glorious. The house was no longer a chaotic mess, but a living gallery filled with his abstract paintings and photographs. He was still the eccentric, creative David I knew, but this time, grounded and centered. His energy had shifted.

I arrived with a heavy heart. Just a few days earlier, my beloved dog Boris had passed away after 15 years together. Anyone who’s lost a beloved pet knows the depth of that emptiness. There had also been other stressful events leading up to the trip, and in a way, I had come to the wild to bury my own grief.

What I found was healing.

A Portrait of Contrast

During filming, I wasn't sure I had captured much. I even left thinking I might struggle to turn it into something meaningful. But once home, going through the footage was like opening a treasure chest. In just a few minutes of editing, I began to see the threads. The moments of humour, beauty, stillness, and spontaneity. The story told itself.

What emerged was a short film I’m truly proud of. A gentle portrait of David and his wildly creative mind, set against the vast, rugged beauty of the landscape around him. The contrast between inner chaos and outer calm, between the wild mind and the still earth, came alive naturally on screen.

Adding anything more would have only diluted the essence.

I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed creating it.