Bhutan: The Land Of Happiness

Bhutan is the only nation in the world that measures Gross National Happiness (GNH) while all other nations focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GNH was launched formally in 1972 as an economic alternative to GDP.

Bhutan has a completely different approach to prosperity from the rest of the western world. The Prime Minister of Bhutan, Jigme Thinley said, "The dogma of limitless productivity and growth in a finite world is unsustainable and unfair for future generations". At the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements he made a commitment to sustainable agriculture saying, "...my government has pledged to become 100% organic in food production…"

Gross National Happiness in Bhutan

Bhutan, a small country enshrined in the Himalaya's leads the way in the pursuit of holistic, inclusive and truly environmentally sustainable development.

Memory Of Colors

In a polarized world, color is a victory. Photographer Jaime Ocampo Rangel has spent his life chronicling the ways in which native cultures have revered and expressed themselves in color. This film is a small sampling of his monumental work.

Watch here if video doesn't work: Memory of Colors

Video from KarmaTube

Amish

The Amish, sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.

Amish on Break (National Geographic)

Five Amish teenagers leave their sheltered community for the first time to spend four weeks abroad in the United Kingdom. It's a trip full of firsts - first time on an airplane, first visit to the ocean and first nightclub. We'll see how they react to the seedy streets of London, street performers and the hedonistic lifestyle of an indie rock band they befriend. We'll also see how their simple life clashes with that of the British upper classes.



Trouble in Amish Paradise (BBC)


An extraordinary insight into the secretive world of the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. When two radical Amish men, Ephraim and Jesse Stoltzfus, start to question some of the most fundamental aspects of their Amish culture, they face excommunication from their church and total rejection by their friends and family.



Leaving Amish Paradise (BBC)

Filmed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this film is a sequel to the BBC documentary, 'Trouble in Amish Paradise.' The film follows 2 Amish families as they become ex-communicated from the Amish Church.

Breasts Not Bombs

War is indecent, breasts are not.

Baraka

Baraka is an incredible nonverbal film containing images of 24 countries from 6 continents, created by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, with music from Michael Stearns and others. The film has no plot, contains no actors and has no script. Instead, high quality 70mm images show some of the best, and worse, parts of nature and human life. Timelapse is used heavily to show everyday life from a different perspective. Baraka is often considered a spiritual film.

Life In A Day

Director Kevin Macdonald and producer Ridley Scott team up to offer this candid snapshot of a single day on planet Earth. Compiled from over 80,000 YouTube submissions by contributors in 192 countries, Life in a Day presents a microcosmic view of our daily experiences as a global society. From the mundane to the profound, everything has its place as we spend 90 minutes gaining greater insight into the lives of people who may be more like us than we ever suspected, despite the fact that we’re separated by incredible distances.

Clips are not labeled with locations – some are nevertheless easy to figure out, but others leave few clues. Obviously this is intentional on Macdonald’s part, as you occasionally find yourself distracted by trying to figure out where the hell the various videos come from.

Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out Of Balance

Prepare to experience a truly remarkable filma cinematic masterpiece so extraordinary that it regales the senses, stimulates the mind and actually 'redefines the potential of filmmaking (The Hollywood Reporter). Celebrated director Godfrey Reggio, innovative cinematographer Ron Fricke and Golden Globe-winning composer Philip Glass have created a spellbinding film so rich in beauty and detail that with each viewing it becomes a new and different film (Leonard Maltin). Unique profound mesmerizing and thought-provoking (Boxoffice), Koyaanisqatsi contrasts the tranquil beauty of nature with the frenzied hum of contemporary urban society. Uniting breathtaking imagery with a hauntingly evocative, award-winning score, it is original and fascinating one of the greatest (cult)films of all time.