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THE WISDOM TO SURVIVE examines the challenges that climate change poses and discusses meaningful action that can be taken by individuals and communities.
THE WISDOM TO SURVIVE accepts the consensus of scientists that climate change has already arrived, and asks, what is keeping us from action? The film explores how unlimited growth and greed are destroying the life support system of the planet, the social fabric of society, and the lives of billions of people.
Will we have the wisdom to survive? The film features thought leaders and activists in the realms of science, economics and spirituality discussing how we can evolve and take action in the face of climate disruption. They urge us to open ourselves to the beauty that surrounds us and get to work on ensuring it thrives.
Among those featured are Bill McKibben, Joanna Macy, Nikki Cooley, Roger Payne, Richard Heinberg, Amy Seidl, Stephanie Kaza, Gus Speth, Jihan Gearan, and Ben Falk.
56 minutes
SDH Captioning for the Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing
Directed by John Ankele and Anne Macksoud
Videography: Michael Sacca
Music: Eugene Friesen, cello
A film by Old Dog Documentaries
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"A short, visually beautiful, and philosophically warm and uplifting movie…We need a big movement, which means we need massive involvement. You can even begin with a screening of this film."
Karie Firoozmand, Friends Journal
"Brilliant, achingly poignant...Please SEE THIS FILM - bring it to your community, talk about it, share it with others. It is one of the most artfully-rendered films on the planet's crisis (and how we move through it) I have ever seen...extraordinarily moving."
Shyla Nelson, One Earth-One Voice, Strafford VT
"This film is deeply moving and profoundly engaging. Indeed, it has the potential to transform lives because it provides visions of how we should live in the midst of massive environmental challenges. I cannot recommend it more highly!"
Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
"Phenomenal. ...it will serve to catalyze necessary spiritual, social, and intellectual transformations, and hasten global progress in building a sustainable world."
Jamie Konopacky, Representative for Sustainable Development, US Baha'i
"An exquisitely-filmed documentary that presents an overview of the climate crisis, including its causes, effects, and directions of hope. Poignant scenes illustrate the sacred beauty of the natural world, the tragedy of its diminishment, and our human interconnectedness with the rest of creation. Indigenous leaders, people from poor and vulnerable nations, scientists, scholars, religious leaders, activists, farmers, and poets make the case for 'climate justice' and point in the direction of hope. Do we have the wisdom to survive? The answer is related to community. We are connected by our shared grief at what is happening to the earth and by our shared hope and commitment to the future."
Rev. Sharon Delgado, co-founder and Executive Director of Earth Justice Ministries