Joanna Macy and the Great Turning

 In JOANNA MACY AND THE GREAT TURNING, Joanna shares her understanding of these times we live in, when everything we treasure seems to be at risk. But it is not a film about despair. Instead, it is about the opportunity we have to come alive to our truest power, to “look straight into the face of our time, which is the biggest gift we can give,” and to participate in the Great Turning.

What is the Great Turning? It is, as Joanna describes it, the shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization. It is, she believes, the third major revolution of human existence, after the agricultural and industrial revolutions. This one, though, has to unfold much more quickly. The good news is that it is, all around the world.

“The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth,” says Joanna, “Is not that we are on the way to destroying the world — we’ve actually been on the way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other.”

This is a thoughtful, and ultimately hopeful, film for anyone concerned about the future of life on the planet.

“We imagine they’ll look back at us,” Joanna says, referring to future generations, “Living in these early years of the third millennium, and say, ‘Oh, those ancestors. They were taking part in the Great Turning.’”

PURCHASE FILM
Personal Use: Streaming or DVD purchase from filmmaker
Educational Use: The Video Project

CREDITS
Director – Christopher Landry
Director of Photography – Colby Gottert
Music – Philip Price
Editor – Christopher Landry
Assistant Editor – Jordan Baese
Titles – C.S. Fosset

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Christopher Landry, M.Ed is a filmmaker and activist who helps mission-centered organizations create a more just and sustainable world by telling their stories more effectively through his firm, Landry Communications. He lives in western Massachusetts.

FILMMAKER CONTACT
Christopher Landry
chris@christopherlandry.com
www.christopherlandry.com

AWARDS
Official selection:

• Wild & Scenic Film Festival
• Brattleboro Film Festival
• Ashville Film Festival

FILMMAKERS’ STATEMENT
I have always believed in the power of stories to change the world, and I’ve long used storytelling in my work in various issues like food security, sustainable agriculture, and social justice.

The first time I heard Joanna Macy speak, I knew I wanted to make a film that would bring her powerful story to a wider audience. To me, she is like a Joseph Campbell for these times: someone who offers us a map of this territory we’re in now, and who connects us to ancient wisdom that can help us find our way.