Lynn Margulis in Symbiotic Earth

SYMBIOTIC EARTH SCREENINGS APRIL/MAY 2018

Screening report notes from filmmaker John Feldman

New Zealand, April 1, 2018

In Kaikohe, Northland, New Zealand on April 1, 2018, a screening of “Symbiotic Earth” was held by May and Glynne Adams – who were Indiegogo Supporters of the film.  It was a small audience of professionals (doctors, lawyers, teachers, a psychologist, and others.) who did not know about Lynn Margulis before seeing the film. According to May, “they were absolutely BOWLED OVER by it!! “ Glynn wrote:

We were absolutely “gob-smacked” – without extraneous sound, talk or movement throughout the 2+ hours….. your film was so breathtaking & interesting. What an amazing woman she was!!  We all must greatly compliment you on your masterful compilation of all your material into a masterfully engrossing movie.

Cleveland, Ohio April 21, 2018

Symbiotic Earth was screened by the North American Montessori Teachers Association (NAMTA) as part of their annual Conference at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

The film was a high point for the conference.  The portrayal of interdependence was so dramatic, funny, and symbiosis was so well illustrated. The collaboration of the scientists who became Lynn Margulis’ friends was so biographically compelling, seamless, and keenly personal. Everyone loved it.

David Kahn, Executive Director, NAMTA

Berlin, Germany, April 21, 2018

The Introduction and Essay 6 (Bacteria Run the Planet) of Symbiotic Earth were shown at The Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin (Germany’s national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts).

Our presentation worked very very well, we showed the essay in the beginning, then talked about 90 minutes with some Q&A following and a lot of applause at the end. Peter Berz who did the afterword for the German edition of Margulis’ book Symbiotic Planet was interviewed after the show and we got a nice little feature on Berlins “Radio 1” station two days after. – Mathias Broeckers

Melbourne, Australia, May 3, 2018

Symbiotic Earth had its Australian Premiere at the Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne. Organizer Daryl Taylor sent us a brief report:

The night was wonderful. 301 people attended. The response was universal – awe at Lynn and excitement at her work and implications. Many in the audience are interested in hosting home-, neighbourhood- or community-based screenings and adult action learning circles. Others have asked if the film can be shown at a conference (Australian feminist historians and philosophers of science) and used as a resource in high school science teaching. The most common question I fielded when the event was over was ‘how do I get a copy of the film?’ Our questions, answer and discussion session was fascinating with many ideas contributed from our respondents and our audience. 

Karlsruhe, Germany, May 16, 2018

Symbiotic Earth was screened as part of a research seminar, lead by the renowned French philosopher of science, Bruno Latour. The seminar was dedicated to a multidisciplinary discussion of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis’ Gaia Hypothesis. After the screening Bruno Latour and one of the seminar participants, Olga Lukyanova each sent me an email:

Let me thank you once again for the screening and even more for the great film! We all were very moved and inspired by Lynn Margulis and research of hers and her colleagues. I hope, the film will reach the widest audience possible!  –  Olga Lukyanova

dear John
it was great to screen the film with the students preparing the show here in Karlsruhe. it confirmed all my intuition about the marvelous topic of Lovelock/Margulis scientific drama. Weibel was enthusiastic also. By the way, I was amazed to learn that her fifth edition of her book was not published yet… how come? it would be very important to publish it.
Best
B

Hudson, NY, May 20, 2018

Symbiotic Earth was screened at the Hudson Area Public Library sponsored by Gwen Gould and Ed Grossman. Library Program Director Brenda Shufelt introduced the film and the screening was followed by a wine and cheese reception which allowed us to discuss the film informally with the audience.

Thank you, John! I think it was a wonderful film and gave me so much to think about. I thought you did a lot to make very deep concepts and sometimes even dense scientific information accessible to the layperson. And, visually wonderful and (of course!) the background music… – Brenda Shufelt