On Thursday, July 12, REEL NEW MEXICO, a monthly series showcasing independent films with a New Mexico connection, will present “RUMI RETURNING: The Triumph of Divine Passion” at 7 p.m. at The Performance Space in La Tienda Center in Eldorado. Producer-director Kell Kearns and producer Cynthia Lukas will be present to discuss their film.

The acclaimed documentary tells the life story of the great 13^th Century Persian poet and Sufi sage, who is today the best-selling poet in the U.S. and numerous other countries throughout the world. It drew overflow crowds at the Santa Fe and Sun Valley film festivals and elsewhere and has been shown on more than 330 PBS stations.

Jon Bowman, then Executive Director of the Santa Fe Film Festival, described “Rumi Returning” as “not only a work of extreme visual beauty, but also a feature exhibiting immense passion and conveying a profound spiritual message certain to resonate deeply with viewers.”

The film was shot in Turkey, in locations that were part of the poet’s everyday life. Onscreen commentators include Coleman Barks, whose translations of Rumi’s poetry are largely responsible for the poet’s contemporary popularity in the West, as well as Akar Ahmed, Professor of Islamic Studies at American University, and Rumi expert and mystical scholar Andrew Harvey.

Reel New Mexico was formed early in 2012 to fill a need for an ongoing, noncompetitive venue for New Mexico filmmakers and films with a New Mexico connection. Unlike film festivals, Reel New Mexico has no entry fee and gives no awards. Proceeds from the $5 suggested at the door go to meet expenses and to participating filmmakers for ongoing projects.

Don’t miss “Rumi Returning: The Triumph of Divine Passion,” on Thursday, July 12, at 7 p.m. in The Performance Space at La Tienda in Eldorado