Montpelier filmmakers struggle to produce movie on the power of plants
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Documentary filmmakers Ann Armbrecht and Terry Youk pose in a garden outside their Montpelier studio on Thursday. JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR/TIMES ARGUS |
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By SARAH HINCKLEY Times Argus Staff - Published: May 29, 2009
MONTPELIER – When filmmaker Terry Youk and anthropologist Anne Armbrecht set off to create a film about the healing power of plants, they didn't expect their journey to take five years, leaving them in debt and struggling with major technical glitches.
Their most recent glitch has caused the Montpelier couple to postpone a week-long premiere of "Numen: The Nature of Plants," set to begin this Friday, at the Savoy Theater. While putting the finishing touches on the documentary recently, one of the hard drives on Youk's computer used for editing the movie failed, putting the digital version of their work at risk.
"We're trusting that it will all be recovered," said Armbrecht, who was inspired to make the movie several years ago while writing about medicinal plant conservation. "I thought film would be a much more powerful way of expressing that… Let the people and plants speak for themselves."
A draft of the film was shown at the Green Mountain Film Festival in March and a discussion with the filmmakers followed. Armbrecht and Youk took the feedback from the showing back to their studio, added a few interviews, honed their product and were about to wrap things up, until their computer system crashed.
However, they insist that "Numen: The Nature of Plants," will make it to the big screen in its final form as soon as the couple gets the editing system working again.
"Numen" is a Latin word that signifies a spirit or force, often with magical powers. Both are very passionate about the power of plants and have worked for years to craft a film that not only explains the benefits of herbal medicine, but how it relates to planetary health.
"Our health is inextricably and intermittently connected to the environment," said Armbrecht, who has studied with Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, a vocal supporter of the film project. "There's the whole practice of herbalism and the business of herbalism… What we're trying to say is consumers need to educate themselves."
Nearly a decade ago, Armbrecht traveled to Nepal to do research for her doctorate in Social Anthropology and fell in love with the culture. When she returned, Armbrecht began an apprenticeship with Gladstar and started cultivating her own tinctures and remedies from plants in her backyard and garden. Armbrecht says she found that knowledge of plants empowering, as well as the vast array of natural healing properties of plants. Youk found her passion contagious.
"Western medicine deals with symptoms, it doesn't deal with causes," he said, explaining that a naturopath or herbalist will sit with a patient for at least an hour, while a conventional physician may only spend 15 to 20 minutes. "For dealing with chronic conditions and long-term health, western medicine is not the answer… If you go to a doctor in Germany, you may be prescribed an herb and a pharmaceutical at the same time. They never lost their tradition."
While the filmmakers ask viewers to question the method of what has become mainstream medicine in America, they also present not only spiritual and natural herbal remedies, but testimony from people for whom the alternative method has worked.
"It's very gradual," said Youk, explaining the idea is a preventative and proactive approach to health care versus a reactive one. "Your system gets built up. You don't notice it but suddenly you're feeling good."
There have been many lessons for the couple in making the film. An important one for both was access to financial resources. Family stocks, savings, donations and grant money have sustained a part of the project.
"To raise money, it requires persistence and consistency in following up," said Armbrecht. "When it comes to picking up the phone and asking for money, I'd rather do anything else."
They are also raising two children and working independently to support their family while putting together the film. They've sold things to raise money and asked for cash in lieu of gifts when they got married to put towards the film.
"It's incredibly stressful," said Youk. "It's hard to get funding for films, period."
Interviews with herbalists, large herbal companies, scientists and other subjects have taken them on trips around the country. While the focus of the film has been relatively constant, with new information came new opportunity for education and more footage.
"In producing the film we've learned a tremendous amount," said Armbrecht, explaining the inspiration of change they hope to cultivate for their children's' future is a driving force. "Someone made a point that if you're trying to meet people where they are; you need to reach people where they are… You give them something that meets them where they are and maybe takes them a step further."
While Armbrecht is passionate about the natural healing environment, Youk explains it is simply about letting people know there are more options to maintaining and improving their health and wellness.
"The thing about making a film like this, it's challenging but there are many gifts, many rewards," said Youk. "It comes down to, if you want changes in the world, you've got to make them."
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