"The Seeker" by Lance Edmands

An interview with New York City-based director Lance Edmands about his new documentary exploring the life of an Amish atheist.

Text by Alex Schuchmann / images by Lance Edmands / 5min

The following two men could hardly contrast each other more. One of these is Lance Edmands. Born and raised on the Northeastern U.S. coast, Lance graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He became a writer, director, and editor who is now based in Brooklyn. His work has been featured at the Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, Berlin, and New York Film Festivals.

During a visit back to his home state of Maine, he stumbled across a newspaper article spotlighting a man unlike himself: a woodworker, Kenneth.

After some intense consideration, he decided to travel back to Maine to document the unique contradiction of Kenneth Copp, resulting in a 20-minute documentary film called “The Seeker”. The film portrays the excommunicated Amish woodworker struggling with spirituality, poverty, and life as an outcast from his strict, insular community. Without judgment, we are presented with the honest story of a man who gave up everything to follow his deepest truth.

In a world where our individual existence has become increasingly complex, Kenneth's humble lifestyle and constant questioning of the world around him illustrate a refreshing perspective. Outwardly, he appears to be a traditional Amish man, but in reality, he defies completely the stereotypes and expectations of someone living a conventional lifestyle.

Captured on 16mm film, Lance and his crew beautifully juxtapose Kenneth's life and his inspiring journey to become a man without ego and with introspection.