Reflections of Life

We're very excited to share story #8 in our Something Beautiful for the World film series - this one from our friend Matthias of ‪@campfire-stories‬.

Daniel is a young Sámi man who always knew he wanted to be a reindeer herder. The only problem is that his family is not involved in reindeer herding, and he doesn't know how to reach his dream.

On a parallel timeline, Leif and Isabell, a reindeer herding couple on the brink of retirement, are thinking about the future. The work of reindeer herding takes a physical toll – one that only seems to intensify with each passing year. And in their village there are no young reindeer herders on the way up, to whom the tradition could be passed on.

"The Gift" is a film that lends insight into modern day reindeer herding practices and Sámi traditions. But first and foremost, it's a story about trust, friendship and the liberating power of giving.

If you've missed any of our previous films in this series, you can see them all here - www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Sending warmest of wishes.
Justine and Michael.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 128

Reflections of Life

To our dear community,

It is with a heavy heart that we write to tell you that Michael’s dad passed away last week.

He was diagnosed with brain cancer four weeks ago, and decided against any form of treatment. At age 84 he felt he had lived a blessed and beautiful life, and didn’t want to prolong his life with treatments that would impact the quality of time that he had left.

We are grateful for the time that we have had together over these last few weeks, to say our goodbyes, and to create space for Michael's dad to pass gently. He was content and peaceful, and surrounded by his wife and children when he slipped away.

There have been many tears of sadness. But also moments of laughter and smiles, while we've paged through old photo albums, recounting stories of their life together with their dad and all of the adventures that they shared. So many special memories.

We will be taking a short break to spend time together as a family and to allow space for the grief to settle. And to honour the life of a special man who taught Michael about living with kindness and compassion, about adventure and celebrating the joy in the simple treasures, about nurturing and caring for the natural world and all of life on this beautiful planet that we call home.

We’ll be back at the end of July with our next new film release.

Sending much love.

Justine and Michael. x

2 months ago | [YT] | 1,706

Reflections of Life

FLUTE MAKING AND HUMAN MAKING

We’re excited to share the sixth film in our Something Beautiful for the World series. This new film - Flute Making and Human Making - is the second contribution from Happen Films, and features Buddhist teacher Tarchin Hearn and blind flutemaker Kelvin Falconer.

Flute Making and Human Making is a meditation on the similarities to be found between two unlikely things – a traditional Japanese bamboo flute and a human being. This short film is a unique exploration into the making of a shakuhachi flute, from bamboo harvest to beautiful music, and the crossovers with the making of a beautiful human.

If you've missed any of the previous five films, you can see them here:
Belonging - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z44qW...
Rewilding a Forest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ozG...
Be the Change at 85 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAaKB...
Travelling Unalone - https://youtu.be/JDeFlZhnk28
The Shoe Shop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUMYY...

Sending our love.
Justine and Michael.
💚

2 months ago | [YT] | 54

Reflections of Life

THE SHOE SHOP

Hello everyone! We hope that the month of May has been a great one so far. It's the last weekend of the month, which means that it's time for a new release in our Something Beautiful for the World film series.

This month sees another story from our friend in Sweden, Mattias of ‪@campfire-stories‬, with this film called The Shoe Shop.

Anna Björkman and Dougald Hine had been hosting online workshops for years, centering around the idea of regrowing a living culture. When they were looking for a physical place for their gatherings, they fell in love with an old shoe shop. We've linked the film below.

If you missed any the four previous films in this series, you can see them here:
Belonging - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z44qW...
Rewilding a Forest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ozG...
Be the Change at 85 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAaKB...
Travelling Unalone - https://youtu.be/JDeFlZhnk28

Big love to you all, and happy weekend wishes.
Justine and Michael.
💚

3 months ago | [YT] | 66

Reflections of Life

BEING THE CHANGE AT 85

Hello everyone!  

It's time for us to share the next film in our Something Beautiful for the World series - a collaboration together with ​​‪@happenfilms‬​ in Australia and New Zealand and ‪@campfire-stories‬ in Sweden.  

This month it's the turn of our friends Antoinette and Jordan, from ​‪@happenfilms‬​ with this inspiring film called Being the Change at 85.

Helen Dew was in her 60s when she decided, 'Now I know what I want to do with my life." Ever since then she has acted tirelessly to educate her community about growing food, saving seeds and rescuing ourselves from the global money system.

And if you missed the two previous films in this series, you can see them here...
Belonging - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z44qW...
Rewilding a Forest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ozG...

This series explores how small acts of love and kindness have the potential to ripple out and change the world, touching hearts and minds in ways that we could never begin to imagine. We'll be sharing a total of 12 short films, from across five continents - releasing one per month for the whole year of 2024 - four from each filmmaker.

Sending warmest of hugs to you all.
Justine and Michael.
💚

5 months ago | [YT] | 206

Reflections of Life

ONCE UPON A FOREST

Hello friends!  We hope that you are happy and smiling.

As some of you will have seen in our previous posts, we are working on an exciting film collaboration together with ‪@campfire-stories‬ in Sweden, and ‪@happenfilms‬ in Australia and New Zealand.  

The films in this series, called Something Beautiful for the World, explore how small acts of love and kindness have the potential to ripple out and change the world, touching hearts and minds in ways that we could never begin to imagine. We'll be sharing a total of 12 short films, from across five continents - releasing one per month for the whole year of 2024 - four from each filmmaker.

We shared the first film in the series last month - called 'Belonging'. If you missed it, you can watch it here -
https://youtu.be/Z44qW19GMBg

And this month it's the turn of our friend Mattias, from ‪@campfire-stories‬ with his beautiful film called Once Upon a Forest.

We hope that you enjoy it. And be sure to subscribe to his channel to keep up to date on all of his new film releases.

Big love to you all, and happy weekend wishes.
Justine and Michael.
💚

6 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 206

Reflections of Life

We are now 'Reflections of Life'

Over the past six years, you've known us as Green Renaissance. The name originated over a decade ago, when we devoted our time to the crafting of wildlife and conservation documentary films. Since then, our work has evolved, shifting towards our passion for telling the heartfelt stories that you've come to know us for - the stories that delve into the essence of being human. We've come to feel that 'Green Renaissance' no longer accurately reflects who we are and what we share. And so, we've decided to take a bold new step forward.

As of today, we are excited to introduce 'Reflections of Life'.

'Reflections of Life' is more than just a name; it's a resonant call to explore the depths of our shared humanity. This change acknowledges the boundless beauty inherent in the human experience and our desire to explore the intricate stories that define us.

We feel that this new name beautifully captures so much of what we do, and aim to achieve -
The character of each film, reflecting on their own life as they share their story with us.
Through watching the film, you the viewer are guided to reflect on your own experiences.
The creation of a sense of connection, by seeing similarities in one's own life, reflected in the experiences of another.
And through the lens of our camera, the capturing of reflections, light and shadows in our visual imagery.

This change also represents our unwavering belief in the impact of storytelling to create connections, and to nurture empathy and understanding. Our new identity encapsulates the rich tapestry of life's emotions and experiences.

And it's still us, Justine and Michael, behind the lens. None of that changes. We're just 'packaged' a little differently.

We invite you to join us on this journey of reflection and connection.

Thank you for the kindness that we've received from all our patrons, over the years. The success of this project is entirely thanks to your support, enabling us to continue to share one new film every two weeks.

And we are grateful to everyone who shares messages of support, that help to remind us of the power that these stories have to touch hearts and minds. Thank you for believing in the infinite beauty of being human.

With much love.
Justine and Michael.
💚

10 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,572