Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action

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.

This movie is excellent. If you want to think about the world without sinking into hopelessness this is the movie you should see. Velcrow Ripper seems to be always at the right place and the right time, but more importantly, in this movie he brings to the crowds the leaders with cutting edge thinking for the future of this world. An army of amazing thinkers and simple ideas that will inspire you and leave you with a feeling of belonging. The content is charged with positive messages, conveyed in words, and strong images. Unique moments stolen; I felt so privileged to take a peak in the past, when these events were happening, moments that I would have never been part of.

This documentary is abundant with information and insight, and above everything, a clear, strong vision of possibility-when spirit meets action.

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.

The Netflix blurb said the film would "explore the concept of spiritual activism" and perhaps 50% of the content reasonably approximates that, which is why I gave it 5 out of 10. Meanwhile, the other 50% is documentary footage of typical left-wing protests and causes, such as anti-free-trade, presented from the protester's point of view.

Naturally, your right-wing nutbars are going to hate this film and your left-wing nutbars are going to love it, as evidenced by the gushing praise I've read so far in most of the reviews. But what if the viewer is not highly polarized and politicized? After all, I'm not American. (That was a not-undeserved shot.) I share values of community, "we're all in this together" and so on; but I also understand economics: free trade is good for the poorest people.. although not for barely literate autoworkers making $50/hr (including benefits). How do non-leftists participate in this spiritual activism?