GURU examines a man's long battle with manic depression and his inventive ways of coping with it. In his isolated domestic life he struggles with chronic sadness, anxiety, and obsessive compulsion. On stage in front of hundreds of people, he is know as Piston Pumping Peter Scott, an entertaining and charismatic motivational speaker, fire-walk instructor, hypnotherapist, and former competitive body builder. These two very different sides of Peter and the ways they collide form the subject of this unique character study that was filmed over five years.
Guru won a Special Jury Mention at Tribeca.

Jonathan VanBallenberghe was raised in Juneau, Alaska, but now lives in its opposite, Tucson, Arizona. He started making films while in the poetry MFA program at the University of Arizona. In 2005 he started Open Lens Productions, which he runs with his wife, writer and producer Sharon Wahl. In his documentary films he is most drawn to exploring the lives of unusual, eccentric individuals.

Jonathan VanBallenberghe was raised in Juneau, Alaska, but now lives in its opposite, Tucson, Arizona. He started making films while in the poetry MFA program at the University of Arizona. In 2005 he started Open Lens Productions, which he runs with his wife, writer and producer Sharon Wahl. In his documentary films he is most drawn to exploring the lives of unusual, eccentric individuals.