Shorts from the Tropics

Finally, a decision has been made on what to do with the winter months: spend it in the tropical mountain rainforests of rural Costa Rica making instructional short films on everything from soapmaking, making mead, building with cob, baking with a cob oven, compost, and a variety of other topics. These projects will be done in conjunction with a business just outside of Seattle, which hopes to sell the films on their website. My share of profits will be directed towards the Mastate Charitable Foundation, which is a non-profit that raises funds for various projects in the Mastatal community. I will be flying into Costa Rica on Wednesday the 23rd and will make my way down to Rancho Mastatal the following day to begin preparing, brainstorming, writing, and reacquainting myself with my favorite place on Earth.

Rancho Mastatal is an environmental education and sustainable living center that allows an unparalleled amount of open communication and free-flowing ideas between the owners, volunteers, students, interns, instructors, and the local community. This will allow for wide-ranging perspectives and ideas througout every stage of the filmmaking process for each project.

I'm hoping that the creative atmosphere also allows for at least one fictional piece of work as well, and I have already been made aware of the potential cast and crew (many of whom I have worked with extensively in the past on other non-film-related projects).

Origin and Destiny

The idea to create Sustainable Productions came to me about a year and a half ago, and it is still in its early stages. I have always found it difficult to split my time between my passions, which are most notably: film, travel, social justice and the environment. More recently, I have become almost obsessed with the idea of sustainable living and realized that it should encompass every aspect of life. We, as humans, often consider ourselves to exist on a different tier than other living beings on this planet because we can reason, communicate with language, and look and think deep within ourselves and our emotions. It is this same set of skills that makes us responsible to work together towards a peaceful, healthy, positive, and sustainable future.

This project is obviously not meant to solve all of the world's problems. It is simply meant to create films that inspire positive change. The entire process of creating each film can and should be as positive, inspiring, and responsible as the intended end result. This includes the materials and resources used, the interactions throughout, the overall message, and the list could go on.

I would love any and all input and involvement from anyone interested, anything from ideas to films to supplies to music to collecting your own footage to possibilities. I am open to anything that may come to mind. This is something to be shared.