And Engelhart’s vivaciousness and passion for the work shone through with every sentence.
I’ve been in the hospitality and restaurant business for the last 15 years.
Soil’s very boring.
I don’t think anyone will ever want to watch a film about soil."
And they were like, all right, “Soil’s a story!”
It really is the story.
I think they did a great job summing up such a weighty and scientific topic.
And I’m sure communication is something you’ve had to work through a lot running the nonprofit.
What would you say is the most important takeaway from the documentary in these kind of non-scientific terms?
I’d say that the biggest takeaway is that there’s a path forward.
There’s a way.
We’ve obviously heard the planet’s going to be okay.
We just might make it an unlivable planet for human beings.
What has the reaction been to it and have you been surprised at all by the feedback?
I would say it’s been lightning in a bottle.
We tried to get it into Sundance.
We ended up getting into Tribeca.
Then Tribeca got canceled because of COVID.
People were watching more Netflix, people needed a hopeful message.
There was this awareness that nature was regenerating because people were sequestered in their homes.
We’ve had about 5 million views on the film.
We’ve won over 50 film festivals, and it’s being translated in 26 languages, 40 countries …
The film has brought those families together because it has the family go, “Wow.
So that’s been kind of at a human level.
And then, just the power of film.
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
And they’re now managing 22 million acres of land through the people that they’re consulting to.
I’ve been able to make so many amazing relationships with so many different kinds of people.
This is maybe three or four years before I met him.
And then I met him at the restaurant a couple years later.
And again, [we] just had a total mind-meld of passion for the environment.
With Woody Harrelson, he’s been a family friend for over 20 years.
That was that relationship.
He’s been an investor and supporter of Cafe Gratitude since the beginning.
And because I have such a positive, infectious energy about the things that I get excited about.
And so I think that was a big part of the engagement and …
I think that people saw that there was no ulterior motive.
And I feel also powerless.
I can’t do anything."
But do you have any next big plans or steps for the documentary or the non-profit?
So Josh and Rebecca, the filmmakers, they’re making a sequel and a trilogy.
So there’s two more films in the works.
The title of the next one is called “Common Ground.”
So that’s very, very exciting.
What we’re doing as the organization next is we’re focusing on a campaign calledRegenerate America.
The Farm Bill is the largest bundle of taxpayer dollars in one bundle that affects our agricultural policy.
It’s about $480 billion.
And most people don’t really know what it does or its function.
It could improve our human health inside of a pandemic.
… We know political systems, there’s a lot of influence and potential corruption.
So, we’re in the early phases of that.
And then we haveanother couple courses.
We have some courses online called Regenerative Gardening for Beginners and for Advanced students.
So we’re providing those scholarships for farmers.
So I wanted to know, what are your favorite things to do in nature?
What’s keeping you fighting the good fight?
So my favorite things, I planted my garden just last week.
I planted a ton of broccoli because my son only eats broccoli.
We planted a whole bed of broccoli, and he helped me plant them.
And it’s a pretty exciting win-win that people can very tangibly support.
And taste the benefits of it, as well.
I think that’s about all I had for you, Ryland.
Do you have anything to add that I may not have asked?
So I’d love people to engage and check those out.
“Kiss the Ground” is now streaming onNetflix.
For more information on the movement, visit theirwebsite.
