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HerbalEGram: Volume 6, Number 5, May 2009
Producers of Herb Documentary Appeal
to Grassroots for Funding
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Numen: The Healing Power of Plants, a film about traditional herbal medicine in the United States, was originally set to début in its final form earlier this year. However, because of a shortage of funding possibly created by the recession, more donations are needed to finish the final cut of the film, as well as produce, market, and distribute the DVD. Currently the co-producers have launched a grassroots fundraising campaign asking 10,000 people to make a small donation of $10 to help complete and distribute this documentary.
Numen means the animating force in nature. The film explores modern healthcare, the current disconnection from nature, and the importance of preserving traditional knowledge of healing plants, according co-producer of the film Ann Armbrecht, PhD (e-mail, April 15, 2009). The film features interviews with renowned herbalists, ethnobotanists, naturopaths, and many other experts from the herbal world. Armbrecht co-produced the film with director Terrence Youk, of Brook Hollow Productions in Vermont.
“Given the state of the economy and the values at the heart of herbal medicine, we came up with the idea of asking a larger number of people to contribute a small and, we hope, manageable amount of money,” said Armbrecht. “We also wanted to be able to offer something in exchange for our request. We are offering that those who contribute $10 can save their receipt and use that donation toward the purchase of the finished DVD.”
It is hoped that the DVD will include 2 tutorials within its special features: “Healing Gardens,” which involves the growing and harvesting of sustainable and common medicinal herbs and “Kitchen Medicine” which focuses on preparing common herbal teas, tinctures, etc.1 The DVD will also include additional interview clips that were not included in the film or tutorials.
“Our hope is to reach beyond the herbal community and make sure that viewers without easy access to herb classes and herbalists have the tools needed to act on the ideas discussed in the film—growing medicinal plants, preparing simple home remedies, finding herbalists, and knowing what questions to ask when purchasing herbal products,” said Armbrecht.
The un-finalized or “fine cut” of the film premiered in March 2009 to a sold-out crowd at the Green Mountain Film Festival in Montpelier, VT. What is hoped to be the film’s final cut will première at the International Herb Symposium which will take place June 19–21 at the Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center in Barre, VT. This is the same version that is expected to be available on DVD.
More information about the film, including a 15-minute preview and how to make a donation, is available at www.brookhollow.tv/numenpreview. A previous article about Numen, featured in HerbalEGram in October 2008, can be read here.
—Kelly Saxton Lindner
Reference
Saxton K. New Documentary About Healing Plants. HerbalEGram: Volume 5, Number 10, October 2008. Available at http://cms.herbalgram.org/heg/volume5/10%20October/Nature_of_Plants_doc.html. Accessed April 15, 2009.
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