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Today We Have The Power is a feature documentary that delves beneath the mayhem and madness of the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle, examines the economic and social issues that brought people to Seattle, and then dives into the spiritual crisis at the root of the problems.  The goal of this film is to facilitate conversation about the connection between activism and spirituality that many people have come to see as essential for our societies progressive evolution.

For one week in 1999 the sight of Seattle police brutally attacking ordinary American citizens that came to protest the World Trade Organization transfixed the world. The story most people remember is that a peaceful protest was disrupted by a small band of masked anarchists intent on violence, forcing the police to intervene.  

Ten years later, people still don't know why unprecedented numbers of people from all walks of life came to protest the WTO. Ten years later most people still don’t know what the WTO actually is. The blasts of tear gas, rubber bullets and shattered windows may have obscured the reasons for the protests, but the reasons for the clash have not gone away: denigration of human life, species extinction, environmental destruction and social decay remain the heavy tolls we pay for the way we have gone about globalization. 

Now in 2011, the Seattle protesters seem like prophets, as the effects of globalization continue to take their toll on our world.  But still missing in the public discussion is the strong belief held by many that at the real problem—and the solution to it—is not an economic or political issue, but a spiritual one.

Today We Have the Power challenges us to consider the deep spiritual issues at the core of these events. The film achieves this by drawing out the spiritual angle from the people engaged on all sides of the Seattle WTO protest event, who reiterate and expand upon the eternal spiritual truth best expressed by Mahatma Gandhi: You must become the change you wish to see in the world.

The film features interviews with David Korten, Norm Stamper (former Chief of Police in Seattle), Mike Moore (former Director-General of the WTO), Vandana Siva, Jagadish Bhagavati, John Zerzan, Tom Goldtooth, Sister Catherine Pinkerton, Radhanath Swami and many more. 

About the Kickstarter Funding

We are inches away from launching the film. We need this funding to do post production, including sound and color correction, as well as for graphic design work for the film and its promotional materials. 

Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing fund raising platform.  That means if we don't make our goal of raising 11.5k in this month we don't get anything!  Anything raised beyond what we are shooting for will go to help create a buzz about the film. 

So please contribute, stay tuned, and help to spread the word!

Thanks again for checking us out.

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57
Backers
$6,215
pledged of $11,500 goal
0
seconds to go

Funding Unsuccessful

This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on June 1, 2011.

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2 Backers

A thank you on our website and notice of updates.

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21 Backers

The above plus a DVD of the film. (International backers please add $10 for shipping)

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The above rewards plus tickets to the Official NYC Premier of the film. (International backers please add $10 for shipping)

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4 Backers

Above plus the filmmaker will speak at a screening of the film (transportation not included if outside the NYC area).

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1 Backer

The above plus credit as an associate producer. If you are interested in this but want more information, please contact me at: todaywehavethepower@gmail.com

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0 Backers

The above plus credit as an executive producer. If you are interested in this but want more information, please contact me at: todaywehavethepower@gmail.com

Project By

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Christopher Timm

Connected as S. Christopher Timm

I became a monk in LA in 1995 shortly after receiving a BA in English at UW Madison. In 2002 I moved to a monastery in NYC where I began Vegetarian outreach and teaching the Bhakti scriptures at a temple in the East Village. In the fall of 2011 I start a Masters program in Ethics at the Yale Divinity School.

  1. todaywehavethepower.com
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