+44 (0) 7887 721 508 sara@proudfootfilms.com
Back To Life

Back To Life

by | 21,07,24 | Blog

 

Photo: Hare’s Foot Clover Trifolium arvense – www.nhgardensolutions.wordpress.com Photo: Ancient woodland – www.ecohustler.com Photo: Tamworth Sow With Piglets – credit Knepp Castile Estate Photo: Sara Proudfoot Clinch – selfie

It’s been a long while since I last posted. So much has happened; life, health, survival took over and here I am now facing a fresh new start.

I have had many new starts in my life so am undaunted at this new burst of energy igniting a new phase of creativity. For this new awakening, I have changed my company name to Proudfoot Films (which sits under the umbrella of Rosy Lee Productions Limited). This new name is important to me as it connects me to my ancestors and my beloved grandfather Leslie Richard Proudfoot Ormiston who was a great influence on me. A proud naval man, he taught me discipline, preparation was key, always clear up after you have started a job, always be early and never late, respect everyone in life, do every job well and respectfully even if it is sweeping the roads, how to grow vegetables and keep a garden, diy and so much more.

In turn, Proudfoot connects me to my beautiful mother, Dian, who carried this name until she married and encouraged me to use it as my ‘film’ name. Hence Sara Proudfoot Clinch; producer, writer and director was born in 1992 when I made my first film at the NFTS. My mother loved the philosophy of the Native American Indians and we both fantasised that Proudfoot was our tribal name connecting us to this great honourable culture who respect the land, their environment, mother earth, animals, natural medicine, the spirit world and peace.

Many of you will know that I am also a holistic health therapist running a small clinic Proudfoot Holistic Health from my home. This has and always will be an essential part of my life.  It keeps me grounded and steeped in natural health, feeds my spirituality and I feel honoured to assist clients on their journey towards good health, fertility and a happy life. This past year I have studied herbal medicine which has grown a deeper connection for me with mother earth and all the incredible gifts she has to offer us. It’s very exciting to dig up the roots of the Comfrey Symphytum Officinale plant, wash and scrub them, chop them up, dry them for a couple of weeks, then infuse them in a jar of sweet almond oil for a few weeks, then add this to melted beeswax to make an ointment to relieve pain and inflammation of rheumatic or achy joints, sprains and broken bones with great results. Historically it was known as ‘knit bone’. Now we know why.

Alongside this is my great love for archaeology and in particular the fascinating era of pre-history where our ancestors lived so deeply connected to the land and their environment, their lives governed by the stars, the moon, the sun, rivers, trees and mountains. These hunter gatherers killed animals not just for food but respectfully used the entire animal, its skin for clothing and bedding, its sinews for string and baskets, its bones, antlers and horns for tools. Importantly, as tribes, they shared their food so no-one went without. They were at one with nature, drinking water from rivers, eating berries from the bushes, making medicines from plants, trees and flowers, building homes from wattle and daub and making fire by rubbing sticks together or crashing flint stones together to create a magical spark to light fire into their dry fluffy tinder. Their sacred rituals have mystified us to this day with magnificent avenues of standing stones, evocative stone circles, fabulous quoits and hallowed burial mounds of all shapes and sizes. Recently I have been inspired by the wonderful film ‘Wilding’ about Knepp Castle and its journey of healing the land by bringing it back to a pre-historic landscape. This really touched my heart to the core.

So what next? I am stepping gingerly on tippy toe back into the creative world of writing. Instinctively my heart yearns to make another film. I have several ideas, some old and some new.  I am sitting with them in a meditative space, breathing slowly in and out, taking my time, looking at the space in between, the other and awaiting the signal for my first next step. I know Proudfoot will guide me.

1st Podcast in the bag with Satish Kumar

1st Podcast in the bag with Satish Kumar

by | 20,03,21 | Sacred Land

Watch the podcast now https://proudfootfilms.com/podcasts/ 

Satish Kumar, former Jain monk and long-term peace and environment activist has agreed to be part of Sacred Land documentary which focuses on the rise in suicides and mental health sufferers especially since Covid-19 and lockdowns and how we can derive a sense of well-being and healing by just being in nature.

Peace-pilgrim, life-long activist and former monk, Satish Kumar has been inspiring global change for over 50 years. Aged 9, Satish renounced the world and joined the wandering Jain monks. Inspired by Gandhi, he decided at 18 that he could achieve more back in the world and soon undertook a peace-pilgrimage, walking without money from India to America in the name of nuclear disarmament. Inspired in his early 20s by the example of the British peace activist Bertrand Russell, Satish embarked on an 8,000-mile peace pilgrimage. Carrying no money and depending on the kindness and hospitality of strangers, he and a colleague walked from India to America, via Moscow, London and Paris, to deliver a humble packet of ‘peace tea’ to the leaders of the world’s then four nuclear powers.

Now in his 80s, Satish has devoted his life to campaigning for ecological regeneration, social justice and spiritual fulfilment.

Satish founded Schumacher College as well as The Resurgence Trust, an educational charity that seeks a just future for all. To join Satish in protecting people and planet, become a member of Resurgence (with 20% off), entitling you to this charity’s change-making magazine, Resurgence & Ecologist.

Satish appears regularly on podcasts, radio and television shows. He has been interviewed by Richard Dawkins, Russell Brand and Annie Lennox, appearing as a guest on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Thought for the Day and Midweek. Satish presented an episode of BBC2’s Natural World documentary series, which was watched by 3.6 million people. An acclaimed international speaker and author, Satish’s autobiography sold over 50,000 copies, inspiring change around the world.

In 1973 Satish settled in the UK becoming the editor of Resurgence magazine, a position he held until 2016, making him the UK’s longest-serving editor of the same magazine. During this time, he has been the guiding spirit behind a number of now internationally respected ecological and educational ventures. He cofounded Schumacher College in South Devon, where he is a Visiting Fellow.

In his 50th year, Satish undertook another pilgrimage – again carrying no money. This time, he walked 2,000 miles to the holy places of Britain, a venture he describes as a celebration of his love of life and nature. In 2000 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the University of Plymouth. In July 2001, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from the University of Lancaster, and in the November of that same year, he was presented with the Jamnalal Bajaj International Award for promoting Gandhian values outside India. In 2009 Satish was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) by the University of Exeter. In 2013 he was made Doctor of the University by the University of Suffolk. In 2014 Satish was appointed an Oxfam UK Ambassador. Satish is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Gross National Happiness Centre of Bhutan. In 2019 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by the University of Wales.

His autobiography, No Destination, first published by Green Books in 1978, has sold over 50,000 copies. He is also the author of You Are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence, The Buddha and the Terrorist, Earth Pilgrim, Soil, Soul, Society and Elegant Simplicity. In 2005, Satish was Sue Lawley’s guest on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. In 2008, as part of BBC2’s Natural World series, he presented a 50-minute documentary from Dartmoor, which was watched by over 3.6 million people. He appears regularly in the printed media and a range of radio programmes including Thought for the Day and Midweek. In recognition of his commitment to animal welfare and compassionate living, he was elected vice-president of the RSPCA. He continues to teach and run workshops on reverential ecology, holistic education and voluntary simplicity and is a much sought-after speaker both in the UK and abroad.

 

 

 

Sacred Land connects with Hedge Priest Mark Townsend

Sacred Land connects with Hedge Priest Mark Townsend

by | 20,03,21 | Sacred Land

Mark Townsend: Hedgepriest! Magician, Priest & Author has agreed to be part of Sacred Land documentary which focuses on the rise in suicides and mental health sufferers especially since Covid-19 and lockdowns and how we can derive a sense of well-being and healing by just being in nature.

“Amazing & Inspirational” Uri Geller

“A Priest like no other” Cherie Blair

“Master Storyteller” Barbara Erskine

Mark was ordained to the Anglican ministry in 1996. However in July 2010 he decided to hand in his ‘Permission to Officiate’ and resign his membership of the Church of England. While the C of E will always hold a special place in Mark’s heart he feels it has become far too narrow and rigid to be an appropriate place for him to continue his attempt at a fully authentic life of faith!

A member of various spiritual groups, including the Progressive Christian Alliance, Mark is now planning for something new and exciting next year – a way that he will be able to express his open vision of Christian priesthood, in a fully sacramental way, and made available to all.

Watch this space!

‘Rev Mark Townsend is a special and needed kind of priest for our times, one who can connect to the earth-based traditions of old while encouraging deep ecumenism from within our own spiritual lineage, one who can play with magic and play with mystery, awakening spiritual unselfconsciousness in us all. We need the mystical awakening he brings alive across many artificial boundaries.’ Dr. Matthew Fox

‘We live in different worlds and each of us sees the world differently. But there is only one world, one creation, one universe. Mark Townsend has a special gift of building bridges across these worlds. Deep from within the Christian tradition he invites us to reaffirm our links with nature and those religious traditions which celebrate our oneness with the natural. His work is truly a work of grace.’ Revd. Donald Reeves

‘The magician is always saying “things are not what they seem!” One wonders, therefore, why more spiritual teachers do not use magic and storytelling to communicate Gospel mysteries and paradoxes! Fr. Mark does it well-with humility, humour, and warm humanity.” Fr. Richard Rohr

‘Mark Townsend is a priest at the edge! The place where new ideas and new understandings are formed is always at the edge. It is a place that institutions, because they demand conformity to the institution, cannot go. But it is always there, out on the edges that new thinking, new imaginings, new dreams happen.’ Revd. Peter Owen-Jones

‘It has been good for me to converse with Mark Townsend, and recognize a fellow explorer of the boundaries, questioner of the powers that be, disturber of the so-called peace, payer of the price for such a ministry. Let him help you keep in touch with ‘magic’ and ‘mystery’ and discover it within yourself, especially if you are a seeker at a time when inherited forms of faith are losing their power to connect.’ Revd. Jim Cotter

‘Mark Townsend is a Christian who lives and thinks outside the box of traditional, institutional Christianity. In a time in which traditional Christianity is in a steep decline it is imperative that Church leaders encourage its pioneer priests to help us all chart new paths on which to walk into whatever the Christian or even the post-Christian future will be. Mark Townsend is just such a priest. A Church that heeds those who explore the edges is a Church seeking resurrection.’ John Shelby Spong VIII Bishop of Newark, USA

‘Mark Townsend looks for glimpses of god-light in places where many ‘clergy’ are simply unprepared to venture. He has successfully combined the treasures of his own Anglican faith with the mysteries of the nature-based traditions. A magician too, he now uses this symbolic gift of illusion to awaken folk out of their own illusions, and thus be cre-connected to the power of NOW. At a time when people are increasingly looking to nature and self empowerment to have their spirits nurtured, the world needs people like Mark more than ever.’ Ian Lawton

Fabulous Professor Mark Horton attaches to Sacred Land documentary!

Fabulous Professor Mark Horton attaches to Sacred Land documentary!

by | 20,03,21 | Sacred Land

Professor Mark Horton, TV presenter, archaeologist, author, has agreed to be part of Sacred Land documentary which focuses on the rise in suicides and mental health sufferers especially since Covid-19 and lockdowns and how we can derive a sense of well-being and healing by just being in nature.

In his own words …

I am an archaeologist with global interests and a passion to understand and to communicate how the modern world was formed through historical process. My research employs field and scientific methodologies, and an eagerness to discover new information through investigation. I believe that as scientists, we have a mission to inform, communicate, educate, and through our research make the world a better place for all its inhabitants.

My research as an archaeologist has taken me on fieldwork to East Africa, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, the Caribbean, Panama, Eastern US, France and the UK. I have a keen interest in field methods, especially in extreme and difficult environments, and to work with archaeological scientists to generate new data from often hard to reach locations.

I also specialise in landscape approaches to archaeology, to look beyond the site, to develop ways of recording and understanding the wider context. In this work, I have been an early adopter of UAV/drone technology and exploring the potential new imaging methods, both in the UK and overseas.

Throughout my career, I have been a passionate advocate for the public understanding of the past – through TV, radio and media. I was closely involved in the early series of Time Team (Channel 4), and presented Time Flyers (BBC2, 2002-4), and Coast (BBC2 2005-2016) and have worked with the History, National Geographic and Discovery channels. I am currently appearing on Science Channel’s What on Earth.

I have had an amazing career as an archaeologist. In joining RAU, I hope that I may be able to give something back to help train the next generation in archaeology and cultural heritage, so that as we look to the future we can be guardians of our past.