I first met João Amorim during the spectacle that was Rio+20, the much-ballyhooed Earth Summit that took place in Rio in 2012. The results of that event were disappointing, to say the least, but talking with Amorim, an ex-industrial designer turned Emmy-nominated director and activist, was a motivating experience. Amorim has crafted some of the most interesting films, a few shorts and the notable animated feature 2012 Time for Change, and worked with some major names in the consciousness movement, but still possesses a sincerity and earnestness in his work that is comforting.
Whether wielding a shovel or a camera, Amorim is force to be reckoned with and a leading voice on the common sense approach to solving some of the biggest problems we now face in the 21st century. I spoke with him in Brazil recently about his work, his family, and the paradigm shift that is now taking place.
You started your career working in industrial design, how important is that to the work you do today?
I think at the time I had already this vision, inherited from Buckminster Fuller, that you could change the world by design. I used to work on futuristic cars, digital cameras, airplane interiors, and even on the New York Subway interior design. This was back in the mid-90s. I think the actual work as an industrial designer showed me how difficult it was to change our industry. At the same time it gave me a good sense of discipline and seeing projects through. I believe that helps me to this day. Also back then I started using computer graphics, which led me to animation, and that is still part of my work today.
What projects are you working on now?
Currently I am working on a "Water and Cooperation" film. 2013 is Unesco's international year on water and cooperation. We have interviewed people like Dr. Amit Goswami, Dr. Masuru Emoto, Indigenous activist Benke Ashaninka, and Gdma. Maria Alice from the international council of the 13 Grandmothers, and still will feature people like Vandana Shiva, Rajendra Singh among others. This film is due April 2014.
I am also raising money for a TV series with Brazilian actor and activist Marcos Palmeira called Survival Guide for the 21st Century. This show will almost be a sequel to 2012 Time for Change, targeting specific issues in each episode, trying to show people how anyone can embark on such ventures and help shift our paradigm.
Here is a teaser for it:
Your recent film for Cooperafloresta’s agroforestry project is a semi-finalist in the Buckminster Fuller Challenge. Do awards like that give projects the scale they need to make a real impact?
I feel their work specifically is scaling already. They had 110 families and are soon going to reach 500 families working with this technique. I think awards give you visibility, and encourage people to keep going. I think recognition is something we humans always aspire to.
Agroflorestar, sprouting a world of love, harmony and abundance:
Now with a growing family and your work at Jardim Botanico in Brasilia, how do you decide which projects you want to commit your time and energy to?
Recently, I have only been approached to do projects related to a change in consciousness, around social or environmental issues, like the campaign on recycling and composting I did for the Brazilian Federal Government. So somehow I feel like people start to associate my name with that type of work, which makes it easier for me. Regardless, for me all the work I do is part of the same work.
From raising the kids, to running environmental education programs through the Botanical Gardens, to the food forests and permaculture projects I do through the NGO ciclo.org, I am trying to get a better understanding of the cycle of life, and its regenerative aspects to help future generations. I make a point of teaching my kids about plants, and harvesting fruits and vegetables with them so they understand these things don't come from a box in a supermarket.
Sometimes the money gets really tight, and then I ponder if I should go back in to more commercial work, but so far it has not been necessary. I hope it can stay like that.
What keeps you moving ahead with your projects? Was there a particular point where you had a mind change about your life and your work?
Since I was a child, I had a sense that things where wrong, not fair and could be changed. But then growing up and getting in to the system, at points I distanced myself from these ideas and bought in to the illusion myself. I had a very strong revelation at age 23 that took me over a decade to digest. In many ways it was after working on Chicago 10 (2006), for which I was animation director, that I realized animation and documentary could be combined in an effective way to deliver a message, or at least instigate a good debate
Then after reading Daniel Pinchbeck’s books and meeting him, I decided to stop working on commercial projects altogether. That was 5 years ago. I mean, I can say that pretty much everything I worked on for the past 5 years has served the greater good and none of it was done because of money. So I changed the direction of my life dramatically.
As far as what is blocking other people’s views, in each case it is different, but I think that acknowledging a mistake is the first step towards change. Sometimes I feel our modern societies lack the rites of passages that would help men go from childhood to adult life. That tipping point can happen in many ways. I am not sure that can realistically be changed, but I will keep on making movies, developing social projects and planting food forests, while I can.
How do you transform your beliefs into a stronger political force?
By actively participating in the political process, not only on Election Day. There is a saying: The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. So being on top of things is key. We need to be more resilient, and depend less on institutions, companies, and government. I think we need a more participatory political model, somewhat like a direct democracy, where the population can be a part of big decisions made in a country. But for that we need the political will for change. Not an easy task.
What’s your take on what is happening now in Brazil? Seems like there are a lot of opportunities for some of the projects you support to address a lot of the problems that people are speaking out against. How can that problem-solution cycle improve in Brazil, in the world?
I think there is a general mistrust in the political system. The Brazilian congress, not much differently then in the US, seems to be focused on the interests of big business rather then on the average person. Also I think the global decline of capitalism is starting to impact the Brazilian economy. While the economy was growing, people did not seem too concerned about all the corruption scandals. I actually went to a few of the protests that spread throughout the country in late June and interviewed people for a potential short, and I felt they really lacked clarity and focus.
People know they do not like what is there, but they are not sure how to replace it either. It’s pretty dangerous, because, as is already happening, people in the extreme right are taking advantage of that to manipulate people.
The collective dream needs to become more coherent, for it to actually be able to manifest. However there are signs of change in parts of society. And yes the problem-solution cycle needs to become a more active practice. Like Buckminster Fuller used to say, to really change a system you need to make it obsolete. I feel like what Cooperafloresta is doing is a good example of that. Here we have a group of family farmers that have abandoned the traditional slash and burn techniques, and have embraced agroforestry. Agroforestry is a system that produces abundant, diverse food, mitigates climate change, improves air quality, helps regulate the hydrological cycle and keep people from moving to big cities. It’s certainly a move towards a new paradigm.
How would you describe the “collective dream” and what type of social structures can help develop that dream into reality?
Well I think one of the problems we have is that we do not have a clear collective dream like in the 60s, for instance. On the other hand we have the social networks that can help us really connect to other people working towards this paradigm shift.
I think on top of the web, doing town hall meetings, somewhat in the mode proposed by Transition Town movement, is very important. Working local issues locally, keep wealth in the community, and building strong bonds within these communities so that they grow strong. It might take some time, but I believe we can manifest this collective dream.
What are a few of the things you see today, in culture, in consumption habits, that could be easily changed and result in a bigger change for the world? How can social media help or hinder making that change?
I think for instance buying in farmers markets rather then in large supermarkets, not buying bottled water, separating your trash, buying stuff that has minimal packaging and give preference to products that are more durable, biking to places rather then driving, planting some of what you eat. All of these things can help shift the direction we are going towards.
As far as social media, it probably does more evil then good at the moment, but we can't see it yet. I mean we are giving our privacy away to companies that sell our information to businesses, governments, you name it!!!
At the same time it has given many people around the world the opportunity to work towards positive change to connect and share their projects with one another and opens the door to more collaboration and co-creation. I feel we still need a strong open source social network that makes the current ones obsolete. It could be done, and that would be incredible!
It seems that many urban areas have put a greater emphasis on reconnecting with nature. Yet, for many people that experience seems to hold little value compared with other activities. Why is this? Is it too late to change that?
It’s never too late! However, the mass media has captured us in a big illusion game, and we do not seem to know how to get out of this mirage. It's like in the film The Matrix, but more subtle. There is nothing in the history of our species, that has controlled people’s minds more than today’s mass media. So people have bought in to this dream, a few can achieve it, and the vast majority dies striving for it. If our society was at least a meritocracy, you could call that fair, but its not. So we are stuck in this cycle of consumption and destruction, until we shift consciousness. I see that shift happening in some places, maybe it will be necessity though that will give us the final push. So it may be we have to realize a total collapse of our institutions for it to happen, or maybe it will just take a long time.
Last year there was a lot of buzz around the Mayan calendar and your film 2012: Time for Change. Do you feel that some of the ideas put forward in your film have taken root in society?
I am not sure how it happened in the US, since I left in 2010, but in Brazil it certainly became some sort of cult flick. I feel that because of the economic crisis, certain ideas, such as the complementary currencies, have become stronger. In Greece, all sorts of time banks and local currencies have emerged.
On the other hand, although it is common knowledge the environmental situation is pretty bad, not much happened at the nation level, at Rio+20 Earth Summit for instance. Unfortunately, I feel we are still pushing the problem to the next generation.
As far as a noticeable change, all these youth movements around the world clearly show that this system no longer holds together. However, I still feel we need to project a more coherent view of what we want, rather then just pointing the finger at what we do not want. As far as the audience of the film growing, I think it has to do with this decline of our current power structures and the collapse of global capitalism. As an activist, I hope people move from just protesting to co-creating a new paradigm based on cooperation and interdependence.
In 2012 Time for Change you worked with some big-name artists. How important is the communication between celebrities and the average person?
We live in a world dictated by media and its icons. I feel a lot of people came to watch the film because Sting was in it. If not, I know one thing for sure, the BBC only did a 15-minute piece on it because of Sting, so celebrities can help get some attention. But it’s not essential. In the last three films I did, we where actually dealing more with the common people. So it all depends on whom you are trying to reach.
What are the main challenges to getting projects like permaculture project in the Complexo do Alemão favela community in Rio to have an immediate impact in peoples’ life, in Rio, in Brazil, in the world?
I think doing an initial project is somewhat challenging, but the hardest thing is to keep them alive in the long run. In many ways initially people are motivated to take part in this initiatives because you are simply giving them attention, so the important thing here is to make sure you will have people that will keep this spirit alive for a longtime. In Complexo do Alemão, we worked with a local NGO, Verdejar, which actually has been great at keeping the ball rolling. I think that is key to the success of implementing change. Develop partners that are going to embrace the projects after you leave and that will keep it alive and rolling for the long run.
What are the main challenges in keeping the environmental movement moving? How does your work seek to address this issue?
The problem is more how capitalism has taken over certain ideas and made it their own. For instance BP, is the third largest producer of solar energy in the world. I feel that beyond all the pollution there is the problem of centralizing everything. If we do not break that system we are still going to live in an oppressive system, even if all cars go electric.
My work as a filmmaker tries to shine a spotlight in good stuff happening around the world, pushing a positive agenda. But I try to practice what I preach. So Today I have in my farm outside of Brasilia 5000m2 of agroforestry producing everything from sweet potatoes, yucca, corn, greens, fruits and so on. In my house, we treat our own sewage through an evapo-transpiration basin, which as a result produces bananas. Our water is heated by sunlight. We compost all our organic waste and use it back in the agroforestry system. I feel these types of initiatives in our day-to-day lives make a huge difference. Again, I think we need to align our actions with our words, aiming for coherence.
Other Links
The Voice of the Grandmothers -In the flow with Water:
Ciclo Sustainable: http://ciclo.org/
