Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action
In these times of crisis, there is an electric charge in the air, a burgeoning renewal amongst both the people who have focused their lives on spirit, and those whose lives are centered around the struggle for change. This exciting movement of Spiritual Activism is exploding around the planet, and the powerful personalities that are igniting it.
Fueled by the belief that "another world is possible," acclaimed filmmaker Velcrow Ripper seeks out today's stories of what Martin Luther King called "Love in Action," and Gandhi called "Soul Force"—what Ripper is calling "Fierce Light." It is the way of the Sacred Warrior, uncompromisingly nonviolent, with a power that radiates from the heart and outwards. It is that same spirit that swept Barack Obama into the White House—undeniably hopeful, and full of possibility.
Member Reviews
*Devastatingly beautiful* - metabolics
Its difficult to explain how beautiful this film is. Wonderful editing, great camera work on a budget and globally diverse locations make this a well rounded documentary. Its easy for me to say this is one of my favourite doc's of all time and I wish everyone had a chance to view it particularly the husband and wife interview in Israel. If you watch nothing else but that section, it will be worth it. I know this is cheesy of me to say but I was incredibly moved after watching it.Bearing Witness to Destruction - Yogini
A good film; a better message, although, as usual, I am dismayed at the people who put self-display ahead of their "cause." Thich Nhat Hanh doesn't self-aggrandize. That said, here is what I mostly was struck by:
Women and men worked in the garden, and were peaceful and productive.
Women stood and wept as the bulldozer destroyed the garden.
Men drove and directed the bulldozer.
Kyoto has just died in Copenhagen.
It's time to do more than stand and weep. Maybe if I do one small, subversive thing each day, like a biased review "for zip," I can make a difference. It's time to "reinvent the wheel" (We'Moon 2010 - check out their web site). It's time patriarchal profiteering lumbered off, over the horizon, with the rest of the dinosaurs.
Shabhala!Challenging, inspiring, beautiful - gnox
This film shows where a broad range of activists, all working non-violently for a more just, sane and healthy world, find their inspiration. Whatever you choose to call it -- "spirituality", or the fierce light within -- it's the way it moves and connects you with others that counts. Velcrow Ripper brings this across through a broad range of images and interviews with all sorts of personalities, some well known (Thich Nhat Hanh, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Paul Hawken, Alice Walker, Bell Hooks, Joanna Macy, to name just a few) -- and many not. It's also clear that all this represents a personal quest for Ripper himself. Above all, the film challenges you to find your own centre of inspiration, instead of offering easy answers, or trying to give the impression that changing human habits will be easy. Be sure to check out the "Bonus scenes" on the DVD, which are not just outtakes or extra interview footage but 5-minute self-contained mini-movies of the same quality as the main movie.
Member Reviews
Read All...
*Devastatingly beautiful* - metabolics
Its difficult to explain how beautiful this film is. Wonderful editing, great camera work on a budget and globally diverse locations make this a well rounded documentary. Its easy for me to say this is one of my favourite doc's of all time and I wish everyone ...Bearing Witness to Destruction - Yogini
A good film; a better message, although, as usual, I am dismayed at the people who put self-display ahead of their "cause." Thich Nhat Hanh doesn't self-aggrandize. That said, here is what I mostly was struck by:
Women and men worked in the garden, and ...Challenging, inspiring, beautiful - gnox
This film shows where a broad range of activists, all working non-violently for a more just, sane and healthy world, find their inspiration. Whatever you choose to call it -- "spirituality", or the fierce light within -- it's the way it moves and connects ...