Every Friday we get together to watch a film with themes that relate to Sadhana Forest. These can be films about environment, natural history, social issues, etc.
We open this evening to guests and welcome anyone that would like to share this evening with us. Reservations are not required. We provide a free shuttle bus from the center of Auroville to Sadhana Forest and back. Before the featured film we have a tour of the project, explaining the project’s mission, achievements, challenges, and future aspirations.
After the film we provide a vegan, organic dinner free of charge. This evening is given as a gift. To read more about why we don't charge for activities such as these go to: "Gift Economy".
H.O.P.E. What You Eat Matters
92 Minutes / 2016 / English / Directed by: Nina Messinger
H.O.P.E. What You Eat Matters is a life-changing documentary uncovering and revealing the effects of the typical Western diet on our health, the environment and animals. Featuring Jane Goodall, T. Colin Campbell, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Vandana Shiva, Melanie Joy and many other experts, the film has a clear message: By changing our eating habits, we can change the world!
Bully
98 Minutes / 2011 / English / Directed by: Lee Hirsch
Bully is a documentary film that follows the lives of five students in the U.S. who face bullying on a daily basis. Filmed over the course of a single school year, Bully sheds new light on the pained and often endangered lives of bullied kids today, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic, and economic borders.
Microcosmos: People Of The Grass
72 Minutes / 1996 / Non-Narrative / Directed by: Claude Nuridsany & Marie Pérennou
It may appear tiny to the human eye, but there is no denying that the insect kingdom – as captured by the filmmakers behind this documentary – is as dramatic, action-packed and beautiful as any other. This is a film of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. And it is a breathtaking reminder that Mother Nature remains the greatest special effects wizard of all.
The Superior Human?
73 Minutes / 2012 / English / Directed by: Samuel McAnallen
This is a documentary that systematically challenges the common human belief that humans are superior to other life forms. It reveals the absurdity of this belief while exploding human bias.
India’s Healing Forests
50 Minutes / 2018 / English / Directed by: Nitin Das
India is a country of breathtaking natural beauty. What is less known is India’s wealth of ancient knowledge about connecting with nature to create a more meaningful life. Travel on a journey through lush rainforests, sacred groves, cloud forests, city forests, food forests and deep valleys of the Himalayas and find out the remarkable ways in which forests can heal our body, mind and spirit.
Tiny Giants
45 Minutes / 2014 / English / Directed by: Mark Brownlow
From the ancient forests of North America to the legendary Sonoran desert, a diverse world of wild, mysterious and remarkable animals exists hidden in plain sight. But, the magnificent indigenous mammals are utterly unaware that beneath their hooves and paws lies a microcosm of elusive and extraordinary tiny creatures. With this in mind, this is the exciting story of an adventurous young chipmunk and a caring grasshopper-mouse mother – two minuscule beings dwelling in a world of giants. As a result, the battle for survival in such an unforgiving environment takes on a completely new meaning, especially when you are a few inches tall.
NatGeo Islands: Fiji
45 Minutes / 2011 / English / Directed by: Julia Moon & Angela Clarke
White sands, palm trees, crystal waters – but the iconic South Sea of idyll is under threat from devastating climate change. From bleached corals to rising sea levels, it sounds a dire warning to the world of what is to come. Islands can’t separate their futures from the fate of humanity as a whole. In so many ways, these shores are the frontline of global change. What happens here matters to us all.
Surviving Progress
86 Minutes / 2012 / English / Directed by: Mathieu Roy & Harold Crooks
Humanity’s ascent is often measured by the speed of progress. But what if progress is actually spiraling us downwards, towards collapse? Ronald Wright, whose best-seller, A Short History Of Progress inspired Surviving Progress, shows how past civilizations were destroyed by “progress traps” – alluring technologies and belief systems that serve immediate needs, but ransom the future. The film focuses on the present-day impact of civilization and the lack of an ethical underpinning in modern global economic practices which is directly responsible for the over-consumption and exploitation of natural resources.
Mystery of the Fairy Circles
49 Minutes / 2011 / English / Directed by: Barbara Fally Puskás
When it rains in the Namib, a thick carpet of grass covers the sand and stony desert. But this green layer is punctuated by bare circular patches, as regular as if drawn by a compass. And there are not just one or two of them, but hundreds of thousands. But where did these mysterious come from? Footsteps of gods, underground dragons or UFOs? Three scientific teams have conflicting theories, but finally the amazing secret of the fairy circles is revealed!
50 Minutes / 2017 / English / Directed by: Ingo Herbst
According to estimates of the United Nations, more than 2.6 billion people in 110 countries are directly affected by progressive desertification. Deserts now cover more than a third of the entire surface of the earth, thus 65% of arable lands. More than three billion cattle, sheep and goats chomp their way through pastures faster than they can be regenerated. This program shows how desertification is changing the balance of the earth and affecting two continents in particular: Asia and Europe.
The voice of the youth in creating social and environmental change. Come be a part of a vibrant four-day interaction where we discuss ideas, philosophy, and motives that can impact the world. Together, we will explore ways to create change in different areas such as civil society, energy, food, forestry, water, construction, transportation, etc.
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