Presence, Process, and the Art of Seeing: In Conversation with Barbara Doux

While looking for a videographer this past summer, I met Barbara Doux through mutual friends in Ojai. As soon as I saw her work, I knew that we had to work together. Her work doesn’t just capture a moment – they translate feeling. She said yes to filming my 9th Integrative Breathwork training just a few days later. And together we entered deep time and space on one of the hottest weeks of the summer. After five days together, we parted ways, and not long after, Barbara's beautiful film In the Heart of France in 80 Days was released into the world. 

Barbara describes her creative style as “presence and deep connection with people, places, and the moment itself.” As an empath, she doesn’t just observe; she embodies. “I feel what unfolds in front of me and translate it into an image. It’s documenting truth through feeling, capturing not just what is seen, but what is lived.”

Where She Began

"I loved to observe. I wasn’t much of a talker." By fourteen, she already knew she wanted to be an art director, photographer, and filmmaker. Her career eventually stretched across all three fields, shaped by her fascination with how images move people into deeper awareness.

After working in London, she turned to documentary and street photography because, as she shares, “I wanted every frame in my future films to hold the beauty and truth of a photograph.”

What She’s Drawn To

Barbara is naturally pulled toward stories that hold our shared humanity - the shadow and the light within us.


See more about her first film in the trailer to Oneness here.

“Joy is the emotion I’m most drawn to… but what truly moves me is the sincerity and diversity of emotion.”

Her process is healing: “When someone opens up in front of my lens, it’s not only their truth being revealed, it’s another layer of my own being unfolding too.”

Breathwork Through Her Lens

Barbara arrived at Millana’s Integrative Breathwork training with no expectations, which, she now sees, was a gift.

“Being suddenly included felt like a gift — it helped me connect more deeply, both as a filmmaker and as a participant.”

As trust deepened in the room, something opened inside her as well. She describes merging with the emotional world of the participants - “pain, joy, release, peace.” Watching their transformation, she felt honored to witness humanity in its rawest form.

One of the most powerful aspects for her was the freedom to interpret rather than simply document:
“It wasn’t just an event, it was a co-creation.”

When Art Becomes Healing

Through our project, Barbara witnessed the power of breath and presence. “When we dare to pause, look within, and breathe, healing begins.”

What She Hopes Viewers Feel

Her hope is simple and profound:

“That every emotion is valid. That there’s no need to hide or judge any part of ourselves. We are all human, perfectly imperfect.”

What’s Next

Barbara’s next documentary explores the dance between the feminine and the masculine and the inner marriage of those energies.

“I’ve lived much of my life in my masculine energy and nearly paid the ultimate price for it. Through this film, I want to explore what my feminine side is discovering and whether it holds the key to living together on this Earth in harmony.”

Explore Barbara's trailer to The Heart of France in 80 Days here.

Final Reflection 

“I hope viewers feel the power of breath, the truth that every emotion is valid, that there’s no need to hide or judge any part of ourselves. We are all human, perfectly imperfect, and nothing is wrong with us — except the belief that something might be.”


You can reach Barbara Doux through her website, www.barbaradoux.com, or through Instagram @barbaradoux, and find her films here.