ULTIMATELY DIRT

DIRT, THE ECSTATIC SKIN OF THE EARTH , THE BOOK

The front The Cathedral of St John the Divine  in New York. After services, writer Bill Logan stepped out the front door with a young woman he was trying to impress.  The Very Reverand James Morton greeted them and asked Bill what  he would like to write about.  Bill said “Well… about Dirt”, On the spot the prelate offered him a room in which to write such a book.  Which he did… (as well as wed the earthy young woman who came to services with him.) When published the book was graced by loud praise.   One reviewer wrote,  “A gleeful, poetic book…. Dirt is kind of a prayer.”   And Bill Logan went on to marry the young woman … MORE

Video posted to YouTube by lifechangingdocos.

Four billion years of evolution have created the dirt that recycles our water, gives us food, provides us shelter, and that can be used as a source of medicine, beauty and culture. However, people have become greedy and careless, endangering this vital living resource with destructive methods of agriculture, mining practices, and urban development. The Movie uncovers the surprising ways we can repair our relationship with dirt and create new possibilities for all life on earth. You may never look at the ground beneath your feet quite the same. MORE

Video posted to YouTube by getdirty2009.

Our film adapted the spirit of the book:  we filmed with pilgrims going to The Sanctuario de Chimayo to feel the hand of God by touching dirt, and taking some home with them.

Our film suggests that our connection to dirt and the natural world goes beyond stewardship to interconnectivity and a deep spiritual connection.  As Okenagan writer, artist and teacher Jeannette Armstrong puts it: “ I am that river, I am that mountain, I am that dirt. I could pick a hand of dirt and that’s, that’s what my grandmother used to say.  She, she’d pick up a hand of dirt and she’d say, “this is my flesh.” MORE

DIRT! THE MOVIE, DVD

Directed by Gene Rosow and Bill Benenson, Dirt! tells it’s environmental call-to-action tale with interviews, stirring cinematography, and googly-eyed or storybook animation (images of fertile fields swaying with plants, giddy spade-holding babies, cracked deserts, third-world slums, and giggly, poo-shaped and -colored cartoon blobs posing as dirt particles; the latter are most disturbing when wielding knives to kill other dirt particles or lobbying with gavel and pickets to vote humans off the planet). Ultimately Dirt! does what a good environmental documentary should: enlighten, galvanize, and entertain audiences, and in this case, make them want to get dirty. Chrisine Champ, Seattle PI.com, review MORE