Premiered Mar 31, 2020

Western views and the legal system tend to view nature as property, and as a resource from which wealth is extracted, a commodity whose only value is to provide for

Premiered Mar 31, 2020

Western views and the legal system tend to view nature as property, and as a resource from which wealth is extracted, a commodity whose only value is to provide for human needs. But for millennia indigenous communities have viewed themselves as part of nature.

As pressures on ecosystems mount and as conventional laws seem increasingly inadequate to address environmental degradation, communities, cities, regions and countries around the world are turning to a new legal strategy known as The Rights of Nature.

This film takes viewers on a journey that explores the more recent origins of this legal concept, and its application and implementation in Ecuador, New Zealand, and the United States. Learn how constitutional reforms adopted in Ecuador have helped recognize nature as a legal entity, and how partnerships between the M�ori and the government of New Zealand have led to personhood status for rivers, lakes and forests, and a renewed sense of balance between people and nature. See how the Rights of Nature function in the urban setting of Santa Monica, California.

 

The film explores the successes and challenges inherent in creating new legal structures that have the potential to maintain and restore ecosystems while achieving a balance between humans and nature.

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The Chumash have been a maritime culture for thousands of years, their territory stretching from Malibu to Point Conception and westward to the sandstone cliffs of the Channel Islands, twenty miles

The Chumash have been a maritime culture for thousands of years, their territory stretching from Malibu to Point Conception and westward to the sandstone cliffs of the Channel Islands, twenty miles off the coast of California. To navigate the treacherous currents of the channel for fishing and trading, they built the strong plank canoe tomols for which they are famous. But over centuries of European colonization, which included forced assimilation and enslavement of Chumash people, the craft of tomol building was nearly lost. Today, Alan Salazar works alongside his Chumash and Fernandeño Tataviam communities to pass their knowledge to the next generation of tomol builders and paddlers. Please join us in supporting the Tataviam Land Conservancy’s project to build two tomols, which will bring folks from the Fernandeño Tataviam and Chumash tribes together through educational events and workshops around tomol craft, culture and paddling. Please specify “Tomol Project” in the message box on donation page. https://www.tataviam.land/donation/ Directed by Ben-Alex Dupris Produced by Lisa Remington, Monika McClure Exec Producer Alex Lowther, Damien Etchaubard Edited by Nate Blackmon Music by Minna Choi Cinematography Martina Radwan Additional Cinematography Serena Hodges, Tim Davis Field Sound Recordist Adam Foster Jacobs Associate Producer & Boatman Peter Bruno Field Producer Katy Beal Assistant Editors Anthony Deng, David Aristizabal Image Treatments Alphonse Swinehardt Title Treatment Ben Blanchard Map Barry Thompson DI by Different by Design DI Colorist Luke Cahill DI Editor Misha Aranyshev DI Assistant Mike Werner DI Producers Matt Radecki, Greg Lanesey, Thomas Carmichal Re-Recording Mixer David F. Van Slyke Footage Provided by Michael Hanrahan "Return to Limuw" NOAA "Homecoming: Journey to Limuw" Archival Images Santa Barbara Natural History Museum Museum of Ventura County Black Gold Cooperative Library System The Bancroft Library, Gerald Cassidy pictorial collection Very Special Thanks Alan Salazar & Mona Lewis Chumash Tomol Families Marcus Lopez Matthew Vestuto Special Thanks Tim Davis Jeff McElroy Hannah Rogers Deya Terrafranca Kristina Uvalle Nicholas Zachar For more from Patagonia Films, visit https://www.patagonia.com/films/

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