New York. USA 

After an epiphany at a New York restaurant, writer Richard Ogust began dedicating his time and resources to rescuing endangered turtles. When the filmmakers catch up with the 50-year-old writer, he is sharing his Manhattan loft with 1,200 turtles, including five species extinct in the wild.

Eric Metzger, director + Neil Carden Grey, producer

 

Please describe what you do:
I make films and sometimes music.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?
I love concentrating so hard that only the material at play in my hands exists. Specifically, I love filming, directing, editing, scoring. And I love diving deeply into the subject of each film, and letting it take over my life.

What is your inspiration?
Potential. Poetry. Animals. Change. People. Beauty. Music. Love. Goodness.

How would you define luxury today? (or) What is, to you, the essence of luxury today?
Luxury, to me, is excess, brought on by the hoarding mentality, brought on by the unconscious desire to satisfy the ever-hungry ego.

Eco-awareness is growing as is social consciousness and the need to be responsible towards our world and its people. What part do you play in this global mission?
I think eco-awareness and the “global mission” are abstractions. The environment exists. To be aware of it or responsible towards it shouldn’t be deemed a great achievement. One should simply be aware, present, and loving, and the rest will take care of itself.

When and how did your project originate?
The project originated in the winter of 2004 when the producer, Nell Carden Grey, and I read about Richard and his venture. We contacted him and he was open to being the subject of our film.

What continues to be your vision for this project?
I don’t have a working vision for the film. I speak of it and think of it often, but now it stands as a finished piece of art. I hope others will continue to see it and be moved by it, but I’m currently busy with other projects.

I think eco-awareness and the “global mission” are abstractions… One should simply be aware, present, and loving, and the rest will take care of itself

How are your creativity and passion an important part of this project?
Creativity and passion were the main components of this project. The producer and I both love and admire Richard and the turtles, and tried to tell their stories as honestly and thoughtfully as possible.

If you were to choose a colour and an adjective to describe it, what would they be?
Why reduce it? Every sliver of life bears every color and allows every adjective.

What is the message you wish to pass on?
That humans are no more special than anything else—than the microbes that live on our eyelashes. That our minds are obstacles. That we should stop thinking and be God.

Name a person or place that has inspired you with their progressive vision.contacts
Jidhu Krishnamurti. Alan Watts. David Abram. Tony Kushner. Ingmar Bergman. Terrence Malick. Africa. Ireland. Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York. My bed. The nape of my girlfriend’s neck.

 

www.thechancesoftheworldchanging.com 

 

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