A Small Good Thing

PRESENTED BY: Meaningful Movies of Issaquah
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6:30 PM, Wednesday, July 27, 2016 PST
Location: Issaquah Highlands, WA (click for map)

For the longest time, we’ve been living as though the more we have—the more money, the more goods, the more territory—the happier we’ll be. Surprisingly, over the last fifty years as our standard of living has improved, our happiness has not. A Small Good Thing examines how our ideal of the American Dream has come to the end of its promise. The film tells the stories of people moving away from a philosophy of ‘more is better’ toward a more holistic conception of happiness — one based on a close connection to their bodies and health, to the natural world, and to the greater good.

This feature-length documentary is set in western Massachusetts in the Berkshires, long a destination for change-seekers, spiritual explorers, artists, and musicians seeking solace and stimulation amid the pastoral landscape — the perfect setting for a story about renewing personal and universal bonds. The film follows innovative farmer Sean Stanton, social work student Tim Durrin and yoga teacher Mark Gerow, whose earlier careers in the armed forces have now shifted to service of a different kind; Jen and Pete Salinetti, a college-educated couple with two small children who have chosen to be farmers as a way to connect with their community; and Shirley Edgerton, community activist and founder of both the Youth Alive Step Team and the Women of Color Giving Circle. What these people share is a deep desire to have more meaning in their lives, a closer bond with their families and communities, and a connection to themselves and the natural world.

A Small Good Thing also explores how it’s important to live in a more meaningful way not just here in one community in the US — traveling to Rwanda, we see how an organization working to provide lasting agricultural solutions to chronic childhood malnutrition in the developing world has created a community at Gardens for Health International where living a life centered around compassion, community and connection has improved the health and well-being of their families.

Release Year: 2015

Running Time: 71 min

Director: Pamela Tanner Boll

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