Common Ground Dares Us to Heal the Soil…and Ourselves
For those overwhelmed with environmental doomscrolling, Common Ground offers something far more radical: hope that’s rooted in the ground beneath our feet. Released in 2023 as a follow-up to the acclaimed Kiss the Ground, this powerful documentary dives deep, literally and metaphorically, into how regenerative agriculture can reverse climate change, restore biodiversity, and challenge the broken systems that got us here. But what truly sets Common Ground apart? It doesn’t just plant seeds of awareness. It cultivates revolution through soil, storytelling, and social justice.
From the Creators of Kiss the Ground
Common Ground comes from the creative minds of Josh and Rebecca Tickell, award-winning filmmakers and long-time environmental activists. Their earlier documentary, Kiss the Ground (2020), introduced the world to regenerative agriculture as a powerful climate solution. This time around, they go even deeper, connecting agriculture to race, class, policy, and power. The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and won the Human/Nature Award, signaling its cultural and ecological relevance.
What Is Regenerative Agriculture, Again?
If you’re new to the term, regenerative agriculture goes beyond "organic." It's about working with nature rather than against it using methods like cover cropping, composting, no-till farming, and managed grazing to build soil health and draw down carbon from the atmosphere. Healthy soil, as the film beautifully illustrates, is more than dirt. It’s a living network capable of cleaning our air and water, nourishing our food, and restoring our ecosystems.
Star Power, Real Voices
Narrated by Laura Dern, the film also features the voices and faces of Rosario Dawson, Jason Momoa, Ian Somerhalder, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Glover—bringing high-profile visibility to this grassroots movement. But it’s the farmers, scientists, and activists who are the true stars of Common Ground. The film gives center stage to people working every day to rebuild soil and communities, including:
• BIPOC and Indigenous farmers reclaiming food sovereignty
• Mainstream farmers getting sick from dangerous herbicides
• Women leading agroecology initiatives
• Ranchers showing that soil can be a climate solution
A Wake-Up Call for Our Food System
One of the boldest elements of Common Ground is its takedown of Big Ag—the corporate food system that profits from chemical-intensive, monoculture farming. The film exposes how government subsidies and lobbying have propped up practices that destroy topsoil, harm public health, and accelerate climate change. It asks tough questions:
• Why are farmers punished for growing food sustainably?
• Who really benefits from our current food system?
• And what if the solution is right under our feet?
Why Common Ground Matters Now
In the face of climate chaos, biodiversity collapse, and chronic disease, Common Ground reminds us that the soil beneath us holds the answers to many of our most urgent challenges. But the film doesn’t just educate, it mobilizes. Viewers are invited to:
• Support regenerative farmers
• Advocate for political policy reform
• Reconnect with local food systems
• Start their own gardens, even on balconies or windowsills
It’s not about perfection. It’s about participation.
Final Thoughts: Finding Common Ground
Common Ground isn’t just a documentary. It’s a call to action. It’s a vision for a future where healing the planet starts with the very thing we walk on every day. In an era of division, despair, and environmental exhaustion, this film offers a grounded message of unity, regeneration, and responsibility. Watch this doc. Your future self, your children, and our collective soil, will thank you.
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