‘small work,’ a short documentary

neighbourliness as world-building

at last, here is the short documentary that a team of filmmakers made one day last spring about my work here at appleturnover farm.

this documentary came out of months of conversations with the director about the ways i think about and seek to live in harmony and regeneration, and the challenges inherent in this. those of you already familiar with my work know that a deep concern of the everyday, lived practice i have come to call the small work is the imperative to turn away from the illusion of independence and seek community-sufficiency. it is the search for symbiosis in whatever we are doing, right here, with our own hands, together.

i love how this film captures the way that neighbourliness can express the heart of this work. that we lighten each other’s trouble when we help each other out, and through collaboration we transform crisis into joy. this is world-building. it is the activism of the small work. i’d love to hear if you feel these ideas coming through in the documentary.

watch the 6 min documentary right here:

this film is not just about collaboration. it is also a product of collaboration. like so much of what i do, my own filmmaking is experimental, and usually solo. so it was riveting to make a film with such a talented crew of professionals. this was both a technical marvel and a joyful act of teamwork.

i am also blessed to be entirely surrounded by good neighbours and i’m ever so delighted for you to meet, in the film, one of the most important people to our lives on the farm, our neighbour bill.

if the film speaks to you, and you know someone who might be heartened by it, please do share it.

enormous thanks to the stellar humans who made this film possible:

featuring my star of a neighbour bill goddu, and made by these legends,

producer/ director: shana lee gibson

executive producer/ producer: cameron russell with common ground media.

director of photography: colm keating

production sound mixer: chris duesterdiek, c.a.s

camera assistant: my-le

gaffer: lehic gommesse

editor: nicole oziel

composers: cheska yo, stephen spies

re-recording mixer: dan abrusci

animator: jonathan roth

thanks again to lorne lapham and mouat’s home hardware and our other amazing sponsors. thanks to my kid sister erika rathje for introducing me. i am so honoured to have worked with this team.

—- i hear tickets are going going gone for the victoria, bc screening at lightspeed film exhibition on january 23 —-

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thanks for watching, thanks for supporting ♡ 彡