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Lakewood's Linda Troeller said the film is about her journey photographing healing waters around the world.
Directed by Derek Johnson and Ali Scattergood, "Our Healing Waters" tells the story of Linda Troeller's life and career, focusing on her groundbreaking work documenting healing experiences in mineral springs and the female vision.
"Our Healing Waters" will debut June 10 at 5 p.m. at the Rutgers University campus during the New Jersey International Film Festival, and is among 30 being showcased from 711 entries.
"I grew up in Toms River," Troeller said. "Swimming in the ocean and things like that are important to me."
A broken engagement in 1976 prompted the former Miss Ocean County Fair and two-time Toms River High School prom queen to seek guidance.
She was searching for someone to guide her when she met novelist Leonora Carrington.
Carrington told Troeller in order to heal, she had a choice: Either she could eat hallucinogenic mushrooms, or she could swim in mineral water springs.
Troeller, a Syracuse University master's student (MFA and MS), opted for the latter.
"She knew where I needed to go... She guided me on the path and I decided to run with it and take it," said Troeller, who turns 74 next month.
Troeller's first trip to a spring was in Mexico, but when she got back to the U.S., she drove up to Saratoga Springs, NY, then set her sights on healing springs of Europe.
"I think my tears were in that tub," Troeller said of her first experience in the water.
"I'll always remember that feeling... of the relief and the enjoyment of water."
And so, she went on to photograph others and their healing journeys.
Troeller's photographs have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide and she's published eight books.
Through interviews with Troeller herself, as well as with friends, family, and colleagues, "Healing Waters" offers a powerful and intimate portrait of one of the most important female photographers of our time.
The day the film premieres, you can watch it streaming from home by clicking here or here.
For more information and tickets, click here or visit the festival website at www.njfilmfest.com and www.healingwatersfilm.com or visit www.lindatroeller.com
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