The David Brower Center, Berkeley

Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 1:30 pm

(a note from filmmaker John Feldman)

The U.S. Premiere of Symbotic Earth was presented by Bioneers and the David Brower Center, a beautiful “green” building  in Berkeley, California

 The film was introduced by the Brower Center’s Executive Director Laurie Rich who pointed out that there are a lot of similarities between David Brower, the courageous contentious and maverick environmentalist (who started, among other things, Friends of the Earth and was the first Executive Director of the Sierra Club), and Lynn Margulis.  Then Joshua Fouts the Executive Director of Bioneers spoke about the connections between Lynn Margulis, Fritjof Capra, and Bioneers.

As the film started, I was pleased that the audience laughed appreciatively at the opening line of the film. Later at the reception people commented on the sense of humor and comic moments (mostly Lynn’s) in the film, which is uncommon for a science documentary.

Following the film Fritjof Capra and I had a discussion which I initiated by asking him if we can derive our ethics from nature. His answer was a resounding yes — which led to a great conversation. Then there were several questions about Lynn and the film itself.

I’d like to thank Peter Buckley, founder and president of the Brower Center, for making this screening possible.

I received several enthusiastic congratulatory notes in the following days, but it was the note from Joshua Fouts that most excited me:

Congratulations again on such an amazing film. I confess that even at 2.5 hours I was on the edge of my seat the entire film, completely engrossed in the story and the (s)heroe’s journey of Lynn and her contributions to science and our understanding of life on Planet Earth. At the end of the film I found myself emotionally moved by the story. It really activated me on a number of fronts.    –  Joshua Fouts, Executive Director Bioneers