I have to admit straight off that as far as the crop circle phenomenon goes, I am an avowed skeptic. While I would like to believe that a higher alien intelligence is responsible for the strange and awe inspiring crop formations that litter the globe, the evidence to the contrary, to riff on something Agent Mulder once said on The X-Files, is entirely convincing to me.

Still, Robert L. Nichol does not buy that line of thinking and makes a good argument for the buggy extraterrestrial side of the debate in his latest film, Star Dreams, a 90-minute documentary that shows the circles in all their mystifying glory and declares to the masses, through interviews with top crop circle researchers and eyewitnesses, that we are definitely not alone in the universe.

The film, which is a pilot project for an upcoming six-film series exploring extraterrestrial phenomena, showcases and investigates the over-all assumption of hoaxing, outlines the basic understanding we have of the circles to date, and covers other elements like balls of light, sacred site connections, as well as the reactions of the media and regular folk to the phenomena. Through the use of stunning aerial images and the inclusion of bits this skeptic had never run across before, like Ice Circles and the sounds which have been recorded at the sites, Nichol manages to create a compelling narrative thread to support his idea that these circles are a message from beyond to humankind, allowing a greater human consciousness to emerge.

Then again, I was a little disappointed that Nichol chose not take the opportunity to compare and contrast his point of view with the 'pranks with planks' hoaxers who have shown how crop circles could be made by human hands - although I can understand his desire to stick with presenting his argument unhindered by images depicting so-called 'fakers' since the whole burden of truth thing may have served to offset the trippy New Age feel-good vibe of the movie.

If Star Dreams sounds like your cup of tea, the film is available in limited community and festival screenings across Canada, and on video and DVD through Genesis Communication Corporation.