As we delve deeper into the new year, it’s a time for envisioning and reflection.

Last year, I chose the word “expansion” as my intention for the year.  After a couple of restrictive pandemic years, I was ready for more travel, more movement, and, well, more expansion. For me, such growth has come through travel and telling stories about larger cultural, environmental, and international issues. Last year, I was also fortunate to spend more than six months in Europe, between France and Ireland.

The thing about true expansion, though, is that it often looks much different than what we imagine. At the start of last year, I would never have imagined that I would spend three months working on an organic farm in Ireland. Yet, I realize that that we often grow the most through the unforeseen, but more about that later.

Expansion through Travel, Teaching, and Filmmaking

It was indeed a year of expansion. Last May, I finished my MFA in film at American University. I also pursued more teaching. For instance, I taught young women in Mali about filmmaking as part of the YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative) Film School Fellowship, which was funded through the U.S. State Department, and taught third-graders in New Jersey about climate change and migration in Guatemala. And, then there were surprises like teaching American high school students about French artists in Paris while strolling along the lovely hilly streets of Montmartre. Such experiences were all were beautifully expansive.

I also produced meaningful independent film projects and thought-provoking client work including a video and series of podcasts about China’s growing influence in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A Focus on Climate Storytelling

The last couple of years, we’ve clearly seen how our planet is in distress. Increasing climate emergencies, from flooding and hurricanes to heat waves and wild fires, show how disconnected our society has become from the natural world. 

Much of my recent filmmaking has focused on the environment, weaving stories of Indigenous culture, the land, and ancestors, and how they relate to current social challenges and climate change.

As a Pulitzer Reporting Fellow, I finished a project with my fellow co-grantee Amelia Tyson about the intersection of climate change, migration, and Indigenous spirituality in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. We published an article in Harvard’s ReVista magazine and produced a short film for the Pulitzer Center. We discussed our film at the Pulitzer Center Summer Reporting Film Festival and told the story of how 32 Volcanes, a local non-profit, was using regenerative agriculture, education, and healthcare to try to stem the tide of young people risking their lives to migrate north.

Last year, I also released a documentary I directed called A Tree Story: Gullah / Geechee Roots and Resilience, which I co-produced with Charleston-based filmmaker Tony Bell. The film tells the story of Johns Islanders’ efforts to hold onto their land, culture, and trees amid the threat of land loss due to coastal overdevelopment and sea-level rise related to climate change in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. The film premiered at the AfroSouth Film Festival, which celebrates the contributions of the African diaspora on the American South, and won best student film at the festival.

Through my recent filmmaking, I’ve been drawn to stories about how nature offers us insights into ourselves, communities, and ancestors. In Guatemala, people spoke of volcanos as protective grandparents. In the Lowcountry, old live oak trees act as visual reminders of the history of slavery and emancipation, physically protecting the memory of African ancestors on the burial grounds of plantations.

Nature shows us that we are not separate, but rather inextricably tied to the natural world. We are nature.

Ireland and the Art of the Unexpected

Last year, I travelled to Ireland for the first time and fell in love with its natural beauty and rich ancient culture.

It was unexpected – I had never worked on a farm before – but I felt called to connect to the land on a deeper level. I was also eager to learn more about regenerative agriculture and sustainability as part of larger efforts to heal the environment and our broken food system.

I primarily focused on caring for the animals, including shepherding the sheep to treat their hoofs and check for illness, and other activities like planting and harvesting. I also enjoyed simple pleasures like driving the quad along the farmer’s rolling green fields and visiting nearby sacred sites like Loughcrew Cairns, an area of passage tombs and rare megalithic art that is over 5,000 years old and older than the Egyptian pyramids. 

I initially planned to stay for a month but ended up staying over three. During that time, I learned more about Ireland’s booming film industry, attended film festivals, and connected with filmmakers. It’s an exciting time for Irish cinema as evidenced in Irish films receiving the largest number of Oscar nominations ever this year and the first ever nomination for an Irish-language film, The Quiet Girl, for best international feature film.

I know that my time on an Irish farm planted in me ideas for future films and projects.

While they appear distinct, I realize that farming and filming have more in common than we might imagine. Both require us to plant seeds and hold a vision for the land we want to grow or the story we want to tell. Both are cyclical and seasonal with distinct stages of production. They are intensive endeavors that require collective team work and a community.

Planting Seeds for the Seasons Ahead

Guiding a herd of white cows in County Meath. Image by Jessica Marcy. Ireland, 2022.

This year, I will continue filmmaking with a lens towards stories about the environment and what we can learn from our connection to ancestors and the land to heal today’s challenges. This year, I want to not only expand, but also build and create with stronger, more intentional focus. In particular, I plan to:

• Get back to Europe by the start of spring for filmmaking or communications work in Ireland or France.

  
  

• Grow my film and video business Lumin Productions, LLC, and consultancy work with more regular clients in the cultural, social, and environmental filmmaking space. I’m especially interested in working with foundations, businesses, government agencies, academic institutions, non-profits, and film production and social impact companies that have shared values.

  
  

• Connect more with creatives, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs with big visions about the stories they’re telling and the changes they want to create. 

  
  

While we’re still in winter, it’s a time to keep our dreams and plans nourished, knowing that their seeds will bear fruit in the seasons ahead. It’s also important to keep the bigger dream projects alive. For me, such dreams includes filming the temples of Egypt and producing a feature-length film focused on women.

 As we plan, may we take aligned action for specific goals, but also allow room for the magic of the unexpected. What I realize from this past year is that when we open to the unknown, we transform. It can seem like a risk, but it’s where we expand and grow most. Our perceptions change and, in turn, we open to new opportunities, solutions, and connections.

I’m currently in the Washington, D.C., area. I’d love to connect to work on a project, collaborate, or share ideas on filmmaking or even farming. I already believe this is a year of more meaningful togetherness… and I’m here for it. May we all expand and grow together as we build anew.