a documentary film by
Alexandra Lexton
FOOLS’ PARADISE (lost?) is a love letter to our wild. Our own inner wild, and the outer wild. How do we heal ourselves through reconnection to the natural world? A filmmaker who late in life acquired an organic apple farm, Alexandra Lexton found herself searching for “stories of others who’d reconnected with nature in different ways, then brought their experiences in some meaningful way into the world.” The feature documentary, FOOLS’ PARADISE (lost?) elicits wisdom from 10 such interviewees, including a globetrotting photographer, a journalist, a Navajo scholar, an ecotherapist, Marin’s famed “planetwalker” Dr. John Francis, and experts in mindfulness and climate change. They explore how one person can indeed make a difference amidst escalating planetary crises, and how reversing the trend that replaces knowledge of nature with cellphone-focused insularity can help heal addiction, grief, depression, and other human ails. Alongside this exploration, we delve into the reality that we must heal what is left of our planet.
(Excerpt from Dennis Harvey review for Mill Valley Film Festival)
Watch the Trailer
In a time when climate change and environmental degradation pose dire consequences for both humanity and the planet, we hope that by revealing pathways for healing through our reconnection to the natural world, we will learn to care for it – and if the earth benefits, we will all benefit. We explore how different cultures, individual efforts, histories and nature practices can offer us lessons for our future. And what are some of our most prominent thinkers and creators doing to make change within themselves and beyond? How can we tap into those lessons and experiences both as individuals and communities? What came before, what is happening now, and what can be done in the future? As part of this film journey we interweave thematically inspired literary/poetic moments by writers and poets such as Robin Wall Kimmerer, Joanna Macy and others.
We have traveled in North America and Africa to find interview subjects and unearth topics that will add to the thesis of the project. For John Francis, “The Planetwalker,” we follow his environmentalist journey from its inception in the early 1970's to now, as he walks with other environmentalists to observe, inspire others, and preserve the land. As with Jody MacDonald, renowned adventure/nature photographer, she uses her work to inspire others to preserve what we learn to love. It is our hope that we can broaden the thinking around what our natural world needs now and how we can deepen our life experience through connection to the land.
Shot on location in Sebastopol, CA; Cape May, NJ; Sun Valley, ID; Telluride and Boulder, CO; Marin County, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Gallup, NM; Tanzania, Africa.
Length: 97 minutes
For high resolution copies of our poster or press photos please contact us at alex@lexproductions.net.
We welcome your tax deductible donation.
Our participants: Jody MacDonald, John Francis (Planetwalker and National Geographic Explorer/UN Environmental Ambassador), LaTreice V. Branson (Drum Like a Lady and Radical Adventures in Wellness), Lauren Kahn (Certified Nature Therapist), Florence Williams, Journalist, Author and Podcaster, Lyla June Johnston, an Indigenous public speaker, artist, scholar and community organizer, Mark Coleman.
John Francis
Florence Williams & Filmmaker Alexandra Lexton
Jody MacDonald
