A showing of the documentary “The Invisible Hand” at the Taos Center for the Arts in New Mexico will take place, with its producer, Melissa A. Troutman, who will speak about rights of nature along with live-streamed members of CELDF for a Q&A.
The Rio Grande is in great danger and needs our bodies and voices in unison and action.
Indigenous Leaders & Film Director Will Reveal INVISIBLE HAND at Taos Environmental Film Fest on April 23rd
In honor of Taos Earth Day, the Global Peace & Water Walk, and Rights for the Rio Grande, the award-winning rights of Nature film INVISIBLE HAND will screen at Taos Environmental Film Festival on Saturday, April 23rd, 10am, at Taos Center for the Arts. The film’s co-director, Melissa Troutman, will host discussion after the film with E.A.R.T.H. and indigenous leaders about efforts to secure legal personhood for the Rio Grande.
Executive produced by actor Mark Ruffalo, INVISIBLE HAND is a documentary that critics call a “paradigm shifting” story about the global struggle between Nature and society. “The water, air, and land have become toxic dumps, and the law is rigged against us,” said Ruffalo. “But people are fighting these perils in daring and creative ways – and winning. INVISIBLE HAND shows a way to confront the forces that put profit above all else while addressing a root cause of our flawed system.”
The film follows a revolutionary movement from Pennsylvania, where the first Rights of Nature law was adopted in the U.S., and travels to the international fight at Standing Rock (North Dakota). Cradled within Haudenosaunee prophecy and free market theory, the film also celebrates the Seneca Nation, Defend Ohi:yo’ win against radioactive waste and features the first-ever national adoption of Rights of Nature within Ecuador’s constitution.
The result is a film that examines, “If a corporation has rights, why can’t an ecosystem?”
“We seek legal personhood for the Rio Grande River and its tributaries,” said Rio Grande Water Walk. “For too long, modern societies have treated this beloved and precious river as a resource to greedily allocate or as a dumping ground to pollute and exploit. As we seek to change our own habits, we also seek to restore right relationship—emotionally, spiritually, and legally—so we treat the Rio Grande as an essential and alive member of our community.”
“Our legal system is rigged to commodify Nature, to favor private property above life itself,” said INVISIBLE HAND co-writer and -director Melissa Troutman. “Right now, it’s perfectly legal to harm innocent people, without their consent, and threaten the health of the planet. And it’s more than just law written for greed, it’s also key to the function of today’s society.”
Co-writer and director Joshua Pribanic says, “INVISIBLE HAND is about witnessing the elephant in the room before it’s extinct. It’s showing us that, when face-to-face with the harmful effects of capitalism and our current way of life, Rights of Nature becomes the battle cry. My hope is that wherever you are, this film can speak to your fight.”
Join director Melissa Troutman along with indigenous and environmental leaders on Saturday, April 23rd at 10am for a screening of INVISIBLE HAND and discussion of legal rights for the Rio Grande at Taos Center for the Arts. Afterward, they invite the audience to join the Earth Day Festival outside the arts center in Kit Carson Park for bands, vendors, dancers, activities, and a community mural.
Watch the trailer at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/invisiblehand, and visit www.taosenvironmentalfilmfestival.com for the festival’s screening schedule.
The Global Peace & Water Walk hosted by Turtle Compassion and Rio Grande Water Walk follows the Rio Grande on foot from Santa Fe (April 10th) to the river’s headwaters in Creede, CO (May 10th). On April 22-23, walkers will be in Taos for the Earth Day Festival and film screening.
“The Rio Grande Watershed is still pristine, coming from the springs and streams and rivers from the Sangre de Christo‘s high mountains that are the headwaters and source for the Rio Grande River,” said organizer Mike Davis. “The waters are sacred to the indigenous peoples who have lived here forever. There are still many places in this region where one can drink perfectly clean water directly out of the ground, but the waterways in this unique ecosystem are in danger of privatization, as is the trend all over the planet.”
For more information about the walk and how you can join or support, visit https://water-walk.com and https://www.globalpeacewalk.net/.