Former Olympics physician's radical principle is examined in documentary

'The Wave Maker' follows medical maverick Dr. Irving Dardik and his SuperWave principle.

An Indiegogo funding campaign is entering its final days to start post-production of filmmaker Kiira Benzing’s THE WAVE MAKER, a feature documentary about medical maverick and former Olympics physician Dr. Irving Dardik’s quest to assert a paradigm shift in our understanding of the universe and of our own bodies – by making waves. Dardik’s radical SuperWave Principle, wherein the world is made up of “waves waving within waves,” is an alternative to mainstream science and medicine currently being applied to health, cold fusion and clean energy. THE WAVE MAKER follows Dardik as he battles to convince people that his SuperWave Principle is the Theory of Everything.

TFPN: When did you first learn of Dr. Dardik, and how did you come to the conclusion there was a story to tell here and why in the form of a documentary?

Benzing: I met Dr. Irving Dardik in 2006 through my father who is also an athlete.  In addition to his medical career, Dardik was a world-class sprinter. From the moment I met him I knew there was a story to tell, but at the time I was studying theater, that was really my world. At first I kept picturing Dardik and his story on a stage. Dardik is larger than life and has the kind of charisma that lights up a movie screen. I knew all along that his life story and his unique concept of the universe needed to be brought to the screen, but I had to finish college before I could set out to dedicate my life to making a feature documentary film about a person with a huge life story and one who also happens to have an idea so enormous as a new theory of nature and the universe.

TFPN: What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned from Dr. Dardik and the SuperWave Principle that you have applied to your own life, and what can audiences take away from him and your film?

Benzing: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is the importance of recovery. I’m really still learning it because I am guilty as many Americans are of working many hours. Dardik’s SuperWave Principle when applied to health through the LifeWaves Program encourages a new form of exercise—one of exertion and recovery. So I remind myself to take breaks during the day, to step away from my computer and to recover. I try to find moments to reconnect to nature and to take my lunch outside for example and just unplug from the daily grind for a moment.  I think anyone who uses a computer for more than 5 hours a day or finds themselves plugged into their Bluetooth and cell phone all need to remember to disconnect and to find moments of recovery. I actually find that when I do this I have more energy to carry me through my day.

It’s all about finding balance and I think that is something that our audiences will gain; new insights to balance and ways to live a healthier life in this very fast-paced world.

TFPN: You still need to complete some final scenes and post-production for THE WAVE MAKER, and currently have an Indiegogo campaign to complete funding? What are the main benefits people will receive for pledging to the campaign?

We have one major shoot left for which we need to rent the RED Epic to capture some beautiful and important imagery for our film. If people pledge towards our Indiegogo Campaign there are some neat perks. Everyone at every level gets a postcard, and after that there’s a flying pig frisbee, the DVD of the film when released, a Wave Maker t-shirt, a trampoline lesson in NYC, a spinning silver necklace that designer Scosha and I designed, and a “Cycles” poster.  For the uppermost levels, contributors could attend our final film shoot and even have lunch with Dr. Dardik.

TFPN: Has your training as an actress informed your filmmaking at all, and how particularly to the making of THE WAVE MAKER?

My acting has definitely come into play throughout this film. Just like in acting, I do a lot of background research before I film an interview just as I would do research for a play or a film that I would act in—so the act of preparation is similar. When we’re shooting, what is most similar to acting is the improvisation.  On stage for example, even with hours of rehearsal you never know what might happen during a performance, and when you’re shooting a documentary there are a multitude of unknowns. Improvisation has been my best friend through this process and it has led me to some great surprises; especially when we’re filming and it rains.  Nature always keeps me on my toes!

TFPN: What else would you like people to know about your film?

Benzing: We have a long journey ahead of us to shape this into a 90-minute film, but I believe that after this campaign we will be on our track towards completing an inspiring film.  I hope our film will open minds to a deep discussion about our medical and scientific fields. There are a lot of unknowns about the cause and origin of disease; but if Dardik is right then maybe his theory could lead to some discoveries that would revolutionize the way we treat disease and look at nature.

Brian Geldin blogs at The Film Panel Notetaker.