Mattias Olsson is a remarkable independent documentary filmmaker and the creator of Campfire Stories, making films that touch the roots of change. His films invite us into the lives of people who are actively imagining and creating a world of ecological balance and human sanity.
Campfire Stories ascribes to something called the gift economy, the understanding that the beauty that any one of us can bring into the world is infinitely valuable. But at the same time, it may be infinitely inaccessible to some, because we live in an economy driven by money. So Mattias decided to offer these films at whatever donation the person watching could afford. It is a remarkable way of thinking about the way people connect with and exchange meaning with each other. Through trading. Through sharing. Through gift.
And his films are truly a gift.
They serve paths towards a future that is waiting for us if we’re willing to let go of what we know. Mattias and the people he documents are standing outside the cultural norms that many of us assume to be reality. They show us that we could build communities where we see each other not as units in a transaction, but rather as full beings with gifts and ideas that will add immeasurable value to our lives.
This conversation is a wonderful look into how an artist reckons with and engages with the questions that move him, and also points towards what's possible when we step into something that calls to us, even if we’re terrified of leaving behind the story we've been sold as we’ve grown up.
Show Notes:
campfire-stories.org
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