Evolutionary Provocateur

Catching up with the Vancouver International Film Fest

I apologize to those regular or irregular visitors who have noticed I fell off the blog map for a few weeks. I am packing and purging and was buried in boxes...still am actually. In between times i managed to squeeze in some free film festival seminars as part of my quest to learn more about film as i move my documentary film forward to attract people who connect with its purpose.

Yesterday i attended a seminar about Diversity. One of the films presented was called Outsourced which i will catch tomorrow but why i mention it here is because it manages in a humorous way to wrap its arms around the culture of INdia in a wonderfully charming way. Through the story of an American tasked with familiarizing Indian call center workers with things like a hamburger brand, it allows the viewer to step into diversity not by dancing around the culture cognitively but by immersing you straight into the assumptions that get made and the comedic results that emerge. i highly recommend this film for any company who is outsourcing or who is commited to helping employees understand the world they work in from many different perspectives with no one culture needing to dominate.

It is a all gain perspective. For more information head to www.viff.org and look for Outsourced.

The 11th Hour Documentary

Leonardo De Caprio's doc film is out in LA at least, opening in Canada next week. It presents a sobering reminder of the impact that the human species has had on the planet in a very short period of time and makes the imperative for change exceptionally clear.

The film follows An Inconvenient Truth which was instrumental in elevating broader awareness of global warming and its impact. The conscious revolution is underway.

My friend and colleague Cory Herter and Joshua Wenner of A Perfect Wave have recognized that there are many people now engaging in intentional acts and have set up a website called www.consciousrevolution.com It should be launched sometime this week.

The question still remains: What role will business play in charting a future with hope?  Market forces run on greed and a psychopathic nature, as The Corporation documented, must change. There are some great companies doing great things yet there are also huge companies operating on ancient mindsets totally out of touch with the world forces and often with their own employees. I have met many people; most are ex-corporate turned entrepreneur and show no interest in returning.

What will it take for big business to see that there is a different reality emerging...one that requires expanding the definition of profit to include contribution to community? Any observations?

Sharkwater

Did you know that sharks were here 150 million years before the dinosaurs and have survived 5 major extinctions? Rob Stewart's film 'Sharkwater' explores the plight of a creature whose reputation has been mailgned by bad publicity and population has been decimated through human demand for soup and other stuff. Without shark will there be man? 

An Inconvenient Truth- Al Gore's Film

Al Gore has done a brilliant job of presenting scientific data in a way that conveys real meaning to anyone who will listen. His timing to draw attention to the connection between action and consequence could not be better, though no doubt it would have helped for his message to have been heard sooner.

It is funny to me that I hear commentary from the boomer generation refer to GenX (and the other labels) moaning about how consequence is not understood, the work ethic is not there. At the same time, when the consequences of our actions are in full view, there is a preference to deny, dispute or deflect the truth. i believe it was either Jesus or Mark Twain who was attributed to saying, "the truth will set you free, but it will piss you off first!" Well here we are.

My father has been banding birds for as long as I can remember. I can remember seeing colorful bands of warblers moving through the bush singing away... 'the voice of Mother Earth' as Rachel Carson put it.

Yet here we are, warning after warning faced with accepting what is in front of us, given the choice to do what we have always done or to do something totally different. Contrary to what might be espoused, this is not about who is right and who is wrong OR who is bad and who is good. We don't have time for egoic sorting tactics that distract energy down separate we/they pathways.

It is about trust in yourself at the deepest level to feel what rings true for you and to respond accordingly. What guides will you use? 

If you have not seen the film, then go, talk about it, feel it, then act.