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“Dirt! The Movie” is all about, well, dirt. Inspired by the book Dirt: The Esctatic Skin of the Earth written by William Bryant Logan, the film crosses the globe to address issues surrounding our planet’s soil – the source of our food, our oxygen, essentially all life.  The film explores the spectrum of stories connected to soil, from brutal civil wars over fertile lands to ex-cons finding healing through tending gardens. The message is to pay some love to the dirt we came from. (“DIRT! The Movie” Directed by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow. Narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis. A Common Ground Media Film).

Gene Rosow one of the directors and producers of “Dirt!” answers Red Flag’s 10 Questions:

Red Flag Magazine: What was the first film you ever directed about?

Gene Rosow: My first film was an experimental film about TV commercials taking over our minds and driving us crazy.

RFM: Why dirt? Why now?

GR: It’s time to get dirty again!  If we don’t take care of the living breathing matrix beneath our feet we’ll quickly become compost for other life forms that will survive our extinction.

RFM: What is the main issue being addressed in Dirt!?

GR: Same as above.  Survival:  Food security, water availability, climate change, reconnecting the natural world of which we are a part.

RFM: How do you see your role as a filmmaker in terms of communicating ideas to a public audience, and how does it influence the stories you choose to tell?

GR: It’s up to us to help communicate compassion, solutions, wisdom and hope.  Especially now that the enormity of environmental and social justice often seem insurmountable, those of us who work media have a chance to contribute.  It’s a feeling shared by more and more film makers who have also worked in the commercial world.  The decision to spend the last 8 years of my life on DIRT! and to stick with it was based on the feeling of contributing to creating a truly sustainable world.

RFM: What was the most shocking thing you learned while making this film? 

GR: How dire the situation of soils are around the world!

RFM: How would you describe the relationship between soil and man?

GR: The whole film is dedicated to answering that question.  Once we knew we were part of the natural universe.  We appreciated that everything we needed to survive came from dirt – including ourselves according to every major religion.  But over time we’ve lost our connection to dirt and to the natural world.  We no longer think of dirt as living.  In our greed and ignorance as a species we now relate to dirt as something from which we extract wealth, or something that we need to get rid of… we do so at our peril as noted above.

RFM: What are your thoughts on hydroponically cultivated crops?

GR: I thought they were cool until I learned more about dirt!  Some studies indicate that hydroponic crops don’t provide the same quality of essential minerals and nutrition.  If we grow food with a concern for sustainable soil we won’t need to think about hydroponics.

RFM: What story didn’t make the final cut that still resonates with you? 

GR: Ah so many great stories!  There were stories about enlightened farmers and farming practices in Japan and China, about food sovereignty in Cuba and Brazil… and..well so many!

RFM: What has been the response to the film so far?

GR: Incredibly gratifying!  People have told me that the film has changed their lives…. That they think that the film should be shown as widely as possible, especially in schools.  I’ve shown the film to audiences over 50 times and at every screening people say that they’ll never look at the ground beneath their feet in the same way, which is the reaction I had after reading the book that inspired the film, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth by William Bryant Logan.  The other reaction that comes us is:  What can I do?!  And what’s so cool is that someone in the audience stands up and offers a solution.