New (and Newly Available)
American Dharma
For a glimpse into the dark side, check out this film about the conservative flame-thrower Steve Bannon from Oscar Award-winning (and avowedly liberal) filmmaker Errol Morris. It’s both a compelling historical and a “conversation” about issues at the core of our fractured society (watch the trailer). You may also be interested in The Brink.
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
“A cinematic meditation on humanity’s massive re-engineering of the planet.” It’s the third in a series that includes Manufactured Landscapes (2006) and Watermark (2013). Required viewing and widely available (watch the trailer).
Aquarela
“Startling.” “Otherworldly.” “A ravishing visual feast.” All about water: its mystery, its majesty, its destructive power. On multiple platforms.
Beyond Crisis
Despite the requisite images of a self-destructing world, this film is ultimately an inspirational call to hope, anchored by grassroots movements around the world that are making an actual difference. Poetry, science, intellect, and heart are leading the way. Available on Vimeo.
Dark Justice
For something a bit edgier, here’s a vengeance film where the perps — four corporate heavyweights — are put on trial for their environmental sins by a computer programmer whose interactive website engages the public as judge and jury. Haven’t seen it . . . yet. On Amazon Prime.
Dosed
This multiple award-winning film tracks a young woman’s desperate attempts to cure her addiction and suicidal despair with plant medicine. It also addresses the opioid crisis and features commentary by Paul Stamets, Gabor Mate, and others. Available on Vimeo (an increasingly popular choice for indies).
Fantastic Fungi: The Magic Beneath Us
Gorgeously filmed and scientifically-sound, this life-affirming doc about mycelium and mushrooms will restore your faith in the ability of the planet to heal itself — and us. It explores the benefits of fungi in food, medicine, environmental engineering, and even personal transformation. Ultimately a movie about our interconnectedness, it’s narrated by Brie Larson and features Paul Stamets, Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, and Andrew Weil, among others. Available here.
The IF Project
This powerful film showcases a national model of collaboration between police and prisoners to give incarcerated women and at-risk youth a chance to reclaim their lives. “If there is something someone could have said or done to change the path that led you here, what would it have been?” On Vimeo.
Long Strange Trip
It may not be the definitive biopic of The Dead — Is there such a film? — but this is as good as it gets. Uniformly lauded as accessible to Dead and non-Dead alike. With a running time of almost four hours, the film was split into a six-part miniseries. (Amazon Video / watch trailer)
Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins
If you found the Bannon film above hard to watch, this one goes down much easier. Ivins was a fearless — and to some, a fearsome — Texas journalist who suffered no fools and feasted on political hypocrisy and misbehaviors from the '70s to the early aughts. With a razor-sharp wit and brilliant comedic insights, you did not want to be in her crosshairs. Widely available.
The Sequel: What Will Follow Our Troubled Civilization?
The pioneering work of environmental economist David Fleming is the focus of this new film. Author of Lean Logic and Surviving the Future, the inspiration for the Transition Towns movement, and a central figure in the European Green Party, Fleming’s influence will be felt for decades to come. Available on Vimeo, Amazon, and Ovid.tv.