Telling The Great Transition Story

The landscape of documentary filmmaking is shifting.

For four decades, the bulk of American documentaries have focused on social issue films that documented societal problems.

We needed these films. They include “Fahrenheit 9/11”, “The Corporation” and “Inside Job”.

But now a new type of documentary is emerging. What is it?

The emerging stories confront some of the same issues — environmental destruction, social injustice, and economic ruin — with hopeful ideas rather than doomsday scenarios.

According to Duane Elgin, one of the most inspiring speakers at the recent StoryCon2 Conference in LA, “great transition stories” are emerging in both narrative and documentary film.

Social visionaries, spiritual leaders, system thinkers and futurists describe the possibility of a major shift in our future that we can co-create together. These stories describe that shift. Some of my favorite examples include “Visions of Universal Humanity,” “Sing Your Song,” and “Crazy Sexy Cancer”.

Speaking for the Global Alliance for Transformational Media (GATE), Elgin has categorized more than a dozen core narratives.

Check out his website for a detailed list of specific meta-stories that will usher in deep changes in our economy, justice system and environment.

http://greattransitionstories.org

I’m proud that many of the filmmakers with whom I work as a story consultant are creating documentaries that tell some of the stories that Elgin outlines.

Here are a few examples.

The first story Elgin identifies, “A Global Brain Awakens,” documents the unprecedented revolution in global communication.  Tiffany Shlain’s extraordinary documentary “Connected” embodies this type of story.

My Inner Circle member Sylvie Rokab’s film “Love Thy Nature” tells the story that Elgin calls “Reconnecting With the Living Universe”.

And my former Inner Circle member Katie Teague’s “Money and Life” is telling the story that Elgin identifies as “Holistic Economics”.

If any of you are working on films that will include solution-oriented ideas that document and usher in our changing world, please consider joining my Inner Circle.

While not all members of the Inner Circle are telling “a Great Transition Story,” you will definitely find members of your tribe in this supportive environment.

I’ll announce the new Inner Circle in early April 2012.

Feel free to e-mail me if you’re interested in the early bird special.