It’s been a full few days at the Environmental Film Festival. I’ve been reminded of my conviction that I have to replace my beloved carla the car with a biodiesel after seeing a film about the BP spill cover up, I’ve been reminded that I can’t call myself sane or rational if I don’t stop eating fish, I’ve been reminded about a lot of environmental atrocities in the world that we all know about and…and…and…that’s a different blog post…lets focus on a few films worth sending you to~

The Sacred Science

As explained on their website: “The Sacred Science” follows eight people from all different walks of life, with varying physical and psychological ailments, as they embark on a one-month healing journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle.  Working with a handful of local Shamanic healers and using a combination of plant medicine and intense spiritual exercises, the barriers between physical health and mental well-being are blurred and eventually eliminated altogether.

The story is well told, and they managed to escape and avoid many of the pitfalls involved~ they allowed their characters to be whole people, they respected ceremonies, they knew what their story was about and didn’t get lost in the details and complexity of trying to explain too much.

But really, my favorite part happened within the first few moments of the film when I understood that they were showing that healing happens when their characters came into close contact/relationship with the source of their medicine. They were living in the jungle where their remedies were being created, the natural world, the natural elements (loved and not loved) were part of the process. Just made me see (with out the filmmakers hitting me over the head with it) that when we extract derivatives from plants and then process them in a factory, we have removed the energy and life force of the plant, and the healer who makes the connections. Aside from having a few violent thoughts toward the woman who couldn’t figure out how to turn off her cell phone during one of the most dramatic scenes in the film, I enjoyed every moment of this film and recommend it to everyone.

The Old Man And The Sea

As explained on their website: “The Old Man and the Sea” is one of Hemingway’s most enduring works and this film, animated and directed by Alexander Petrov, recasts in the authors striking style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss. Magnificently transposed through this award winning artist’s more than 29,000 oil paintings, this film carries all the emotional power and meaning of the original story.

I’m not usually drawn to animation~ this was a work of art. Alexander Petrov’s animation is in a painted impressionistic style, and he conveys the details of the elements, the water reflection bouncing off the water, the rhythm of the bobbing boat, the shadows in the clouds. Every moment was breath taking, and then it had Hemingway’s lyricism on strength, perseverance, and relationship of man, nature, and God.

Chandani: Daughter Of The Elephant Whisperer

Official description of the film: Chandani- The Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer  16 year old Chandani wants to become a mahout, which is a person who cares for elephants.  Her father is one of the most experienced mahouts in Sri Lanka, but has no son to pass on the family knowledge, so he gives her responsibility for the young elephant Kandula. Being the first girl in a male profession, everyone doubts her abilities. Only the ranger Mohammed supports her. He shows her the world of wild elephants. Here, they save an elephant baby from its certain death. Strengthened by this experience Chandani progresses tremendously in the work with her little elephant Kandula. As the first female in history, she participates with Kandula in a Perahera-Procession. But once Kandula is released into the wild, her path changes…

Here’s the deal: If you think you like elephants: this movie is for you. Fantastic footage. While I knew elephants where amazing, I had no idea they related to people like that way. Fun movie. I have no idea how you can see it~ a quick cruise around the internet landed me on this site where you can watch the trailer.