We’re super excited to be turning a whole 4 years old today! To celebrate we’re releasing a new short film: The Plummery was a joy to make and feels like a great film to be marking today with. It epitomises everything we’re about – the importance of growing food, of community resilience, of using the principles of permaculture to create a beautiful world.
Kat Lavers gardens her 100-square-metre back yard with such efficiency that she grows over 400 kilos of food a year to feed family & friends. She speaks eloquently and passionately about why small-scale urban gardening is so important for the resilient future of our cities. We love Kat and her garden is amazing – let us know what you think of our newest short film!
A Little Journey Through Four Years of Filmmaking…
Four years ago today is when the first video was uploaded to the Happen Films YouTube channel. We were two months into a year-long project living in community to make A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity. We’d never been involved in making a film before, let alone a feature film! But we were passionate about the subject and we knew film would be such an important medium for inspiring positive change in a world so needing big doses of that.
In four years we’ve made 18 short films and two feature films, 93,000 people have subscribed to our YouTube channel, 120,000 people follow us on Facebook, and our films continue to be funded by donations from our Patreon supporters, by YouTube views and in some cases in generous amounts from individuals equally passionate about our message.
Over our four years together we’ve lived and worked 24/7 in 20 square metres for 16 months while making our feature film Living the Change; thrived through a winter cooking with pine cones on a pot belly in a 12-metre-square shipping container; bought a characterful movie star of a campervan with nearly all our savings, only to find she wasn’t up to road trips any more, or any trips at all, in fact; had the privilege of interviewing exceptional, beautiful people year after year, people who have influenced how we think, how we live and how we dream; made the cover of a magazine!; parted ways as a couple only to realise we were meant to be together; received such awesome feedback about our films that we’ve had the immense pleasure of feeling we’re on the right and true track; been stopped in the street and thanked for our work (this makes us so so so happy); loved our work and felt grateful for everything this beautiful planet and its beautiful people have made possible for us.
“Your films have totally impacted our plans for our life. Thank you so much.”
“Love your films. I now watch Living the Change almost every week. It is so addictive…”
“This is so inspiring! Thank you Antoinette & Jordan. Your work is beautiful!”
“I wish I could give this more than one thumb up.”
“You guys make the best permaculture films.”
“These videos are my therapy!!!!!! Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I’ve seen (and shown) many movies on similar topics. To date [Living the Change] is the best one I’ve seen.”
We’re in this for the long haul! We’re so looking forward to another four years, and more, of short and feature films about creating a beautiful world. Watch this space for plenty of new films this year, including one coming soon on waste-free living; an interview with the doyens of permaculture, David Holmgren and Su Dennett; and a new series that we’re super excited about. All coming soon!
Thanks again, everyone, for your enthusiasm and support. And Happy Birthday Happen Films!
In gratitude
Jordan & Antoinette
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