documentary – UK– 2011
68 minutes
Festivals, Awards & Distinctions:
Best in Show, Cinema Verde Environmental Film Festival 2011; Award of Merit, Accolade Film Competition 2011; Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital 2011
Synopsis: A film that challenges us to believe that it is possible to build a better world. The film describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions: while government and Big Business push for a globalized economy, people all over the world are working to nurture smaller scale, ecological, local economies. A central paradox defines our time: although the economy is growing, we are working longer hours and our new luxuries have not brought us happiness. Climate change, unstable financial markets, growing inequality: people know something is very wrong. A movement is growing to recreate more sustainable communities and re-invent economies based on a new paradigm–an economics of happiness.
“…delivers a powerful message about globalization: It is the small, local economies…that are preserving traditions, cultures, and communities, and ultimately safeguarding our happiness.” – Alice Waters, chef and the proprietor of Chez Panisse
Helena Norberg-Hodge: is the founder and director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) and its predecessor, the Ladakh Project. She is the author of Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh and co-author of Bringing the Food Economy Home. Her articles have appeared in numerous journals such as The Ecologist, Resurgence, and YES! magazine. As founder of the Ladakh Ecological Development Group, Norberg-Hodge received the Right Livelihood award, also known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”.
We’ve brought together a group of visionary thinkers – and- doers to explore the potential for transformative change in the Free State.