Gandhi called it “Soul Force,” Dr. King called it “Love in Action,” and now, acclaimed filmmaker Velcrow Ripper is calling it “Fierce Light.” It is a universal power that radiates from every human heart, undeniably hopeful, and full of possibility. It holds us to be uncompromisingly nonviolent and drives us to the pentacle of our spiritual excellence. Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action chronicles Ripper’s journey to document examples of this sacred beacon that shines the brightest at the darkest and most dangerous times.

Haunted by the violent death of his friend and fellow media activist Brad Will, who was shot to death in Oaxaca, Mexico while videotaping protests against State Governor Ulises Ruiz, Ripper decided to travel to the scene of the tragedy to finish what Brad began. There, Ripper discovered an electrifying grass-root movement founded on the values of peace and non-violence, but fiercely determined to create a new world of justice, sustainability and global harmony. Spurred by this refreshing find, Ripper embarked on an intercontinental quest to such diverse locales as New Zealand, Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and North America in search of more stories of this growing movement.

From Montgomery, Alabama, the epicenter of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, to South Central Los Angeles, where poor farmers desperately strove to save their farms from an urban developer, to Robben Island, South Africa, where peace activist Nelson Mandela and others were imprisoned during the Apartheid era, Ripper realized that this “movement of movements” has swept the planet and astutely captured this global ideological shift on film. Other backdrops of significant spiritual activism highlighted in the documentary include the Dalit community in Pradesh, India, where Gandhi’s legacy of fighting for the rights of the Untouchables is still highly revered, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist who was exiled from Vietnam 30 years ago finally returned home. After watching Fierce Light, audiences can find hope in this mass movement founded on the values of compassion, collaboration, and understanding and focuses on what we are trying to accomplish, as opposed to what we are trying to destroy.

The film features Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Alice Walker, American Civil Rights Leader John Lewis, Buddhist peace activist and monk Thich Nhat Hanh, actor turned activist Daryl Hannah, and famed tree-sitter Julia Butterfly Hill.

Fierce Light Product Information

Grade Level: College and University
Subjects: Culture, Anthropology, Sociology, Social Activism, Religion & Spirituality
Copyright: © 2008 Fiercelight Films and the National Film Board of Canada. All rights reserved.
Set: DVD Only
Total Running Time: 97 minutes

Educational Prices:

Educational with Public Performance Rights: $249.00
 
 

Educational without Public Performance Rights: $129.00
 
 

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• Long Synopsis
• Character Biographies
• Filmmaker Biographies
• Director’s Notes
• Get Involved
• Credits

Reviews

One can’t doubt the earnestness of Velcrow Ripper, a Canadian photojournalist who travels the globe recording scenes of protest against oppression, which often place him in serious danger. The death of colleague Brad Will, who was killed while filming a demonstration in Oaxaca, led Ripper to make Fierce Light, an investigation of how spirituality—in various forms—can find expression in social action. The film juxtaposes footage (both from Ripper and archival sources)—of the American Civil Rights movement, the drive for equality among India’s so-called “untouchables,” and a campaign against the School of the Americas (which critics claim teaches techniques of repression) at Fort Benning, GA—with discussions of “soul force,” defined as the spiritually-motivated, nonviolent forms of resistance associated with Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., among others. Interviewees include Congressman John Lewis, writer Alice Walker, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and actress Daryl Hannah, as well as a number of other activists, such as those protesting the decision to close down and sell a community garden in South Central Los Angeles (a story that is the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Garden). A solid discussion starter, Fierce Light is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
-Video Librarian Review September/October 2009

Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action is a tremendous accomplishment from award-winning filmmaker Velcrow Ripper (Scared Sacred). Fierce Light is a powerful film combining compelling interviews and footage from around the world of profoundly moving images of beauty and vitality, as well as those of shocking violence and destruction. Like Scared Sacred, Fierce Light is both a heart-wrenching and inspirational journey to places of conflict around the globe. The film begins with the spine-chilling footage taken by friend and fellow media activist Brad Will, during which he was shot twice and killed by gunman (believed to be public officials) while documenting the teacher’s protests in Oaxhaca, Mexico in 2006.

Ripper’s film is a moving dedication to Brad Will, peaceful protest, and compassionate activism. The concept of “fierce light” expands on what Gandhi called “soul force,” or the awakening to positive and compassionate action in the face of great suffering and need. It is described as a spiritual activism that is based on the best innate qualities of humanity, and is presented as a powerful global movement that starts from within each person.

Taking a central focus of the film is the highly publicized and controversial debacle/situation of the eviction and destruction of the South Central Farm in Los Angeles (also the subject of 2008 Academy Award-nominated film, The Garden). Ripper also takes viewers to India, where the lowliest struggle for existence; post-Apartheid South Africa; and Thich Naht Hahn’s (see below) return to Vietnam to heal the wounds of the Vietnam War. For more information, there is a detailed synopsis available from the film’s corresponding Web site.

The film features a number of eloquent interviews, among which include: spiritual leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Congressman and Civil Rights hero John Lewis; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker (The Color Purple); actor/activist Daryl Hannah; famously-exiled Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Naht Hahn; environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill, who stayed aloft in an ancient redwood tree for two years to save it from loggers; and “Dharma punk” Noah Levine.

The film is very well made, with excellent quality audio and video, and is carefully edited and sequenced so that it presents a gripping tale from beginning to end. Fierce Light is highly recommended for public libraries and general audiences. Academic libraries may also consider the film useful for supporting curricula in ethics, human rights, and activism (socially, politically, and environmentally). Broader themes covered include human interaction and sociology, spirituality, and urban and multicultural studies.

-Educational Media Reviews Online

“Five stars. A spiritual kaleidoscope of hope and Joy.”
- Green Muze

“A marvelous film made with grace, heart and beauty.”
- Joanna Macy

“This stunningly beautiful film will open new pathways for both personal and planetary transformation.”
-Starhawk

“Fierce Light is an experience of spiritual awakening.”
- Alan Clements

“The most beautiful documentary I have ever seen!
It was one of these experiences that change you forever.”
-Loneshewolf