Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action

A great way to interact with this film is to join The DVD Club - it's like a book club but for film, and is a part of First Weekend Club - a non-profit organization that promotes Canadian film. For October, Fierce Light is the Official Selection, and Velcrow, Cher Hawrysh (producer) and activist/journalist Judy Rebick and artist/activist Carly Stasko are online to answer questions and spark debate.

The DVD Club is free to join and is a fantastic way to extend the life of Canadian film beyond the cinema release date! First Weekend Club is a cross-Canada organization that promotes and celebrates great Canadian film. Check it out at www.firstweekendclub.ca/DVD-club

As a long-time activist and some-time film maker, I attended Velcrow Ripper's latest film with an open heart and a critical mind. The subject matter is so important to express in a widely accessible way yet, in a world where we are necessarily kept from accessing this point of view, it will be a miracle if we can see this high quality film taken up for broad distribution and viewing. You, dear reader, can make that miracle happen if you insist that this film be show in your town, wherever that may be.

Fierce Light honours a diverse selection of activists who have committed deeply, fiercely and lovingly to initiating and following through with compassionate actions that create the world we need right now. From the famous and well-known personalities to people we may never hear of again, Fierce Light captures beauty and love in the faces and words of people just like we are in our collective dream of a world of peace and justice.

There are few films that are so complete that the edges disappear; that engage the entire body in viewing, and leave you palpably shifted. Fierce Light is a remarkable combination of all of these things. Art and heart. It defies conventions of exposition, relying instead on organic unfolding as its voice. In doing so, there is an honest equality in each story and character, Thich Nhat Hahn presented with equal weight as the young girl in South Central Farms. Their hardships and glories speak to a common human experience, and a deep undisturbed peace; calmness within the storm, from which creative and positive social action can arise. In this way, Fierce Light points to a path of peace that preexists the difficulties of the modern world, one that has not wavered in the wake of killing and fear, on which we have been standing together all along. Now, we are urged emotively, it is time to walk it.

Thank you for the effort, insight, chutzpah and grace it took to make this film sing the way it does.

The content and characters were compelling. I felt fortified afterward. Thank you for that.

One of the messages sticking with me was John Lewis and his stand for love - in the face of it all. The set up for his scene with the shots of the memorial sculptures in the South with the dogs was a powerfully imaginative way to let those sculptures come alive. The artist/s would have to be thrilled to see their work re-viewed like that.

This kind of film assists one/me in falling in love more deeply with people. I like and need to be reminded about the deep goodness that abides. I especially appreciated the long close-ups that felt like still lives till the person looked up, down or smiled. That was living portraiture.

What would it have taken for the developer to be touched? How do we/us affect change in the hearts that hold so much of a certain kind of power? How does one move them towards the common good? That's a skill set we need to master now.

Gives hope and direction to all of those who feel they are alone in this world wanting things to change for the better. After finishing the film I felt like maybe there's a chance that humanity will make it through the current world crises and that is no small accomplishment! Fierce Light has taken social action and activism going on all over the world and through history and connected it all into a web of inspired action that transcends politics and religion. After seeing this film I feel less alone and more hopeful, like the world has many genuinely spiritual people trying to make the world a better place whether they label themselves that way or not. A truly powerful documentary and work of art with masterful direction and sound design.