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Filmmakers Rebecca and Josh Tickell, along with music royalty, Julian Lennon, have worked tirelessly to produce the film, Kiss the Ground, an important documentary that premiered on Netflix September 22nd. The film could not come at a better time, when our planet and the living beings that inhabit it are in need of healing on a grand scale. This film takes a close look at our earth's most powerful unsung hero, our soil. We quite literally cannot live without it. Julian Lennon, the first-born son of late Beatles legend John Lennon and his late first wife, Cynthia Powell Lennon, grew up with the weighty knowledge that his father changed the landscape of popular music forever. His mother was a singer, songwriter and artist in her own right who also went on to make her mark on both British and American popular culture. Julian's own music career has delivered beautifully composed and vocalized hits like Too Late For Goodbyes, Valotte and Saltwater, an impassioned song about humans' destruction to our planet. Julian has devoted the majority of his life to humanitarian work with his White Feather Foundation (the white feather is a nod to Lennon's late father, John), bringing life-saving natural resources to people in developing nations around and doing his part to safeguard our environment. Julian's latest project is the film, Kiss the Ground, where he came on board as the film's Executive Producer, ensuring the project had the talent, funding and resources it needed to be seen by as many of us as possible. Filmmakers Rebecca and Josh Tickell are tireless and extraordinarily gifted documentary filmmakers who co-wrote and co-directed Kiss the Ground, and as Rebecca Tickell explains, "Due to COVID-19, never has there been a time on our planet when wellness has been such a priority for so many. When most of us think about wellness we think of our own bodies. It is easy to miss that our wellness is a function of the ecosystem we live in." "It's a healthy ecosystem, healthy soil, and healthy food that leads to healthy people," says Josh. "The inverse is also true, and we are living the proof of that now. If we want to live to our fullest potential as the caretakers of this great garden we call earth, we need better manuals, better narratives, and a better framework for co-existing with our beautiful planet." With their film, Kiss the Ground, their goal is to tell a new story, which in some ways is an ancient story of how to live in a way that creates the most health for the most people, while also regenerating the ecosystem that sustains us. When I ask the Tickells what Julian's involvement has brought to their film, they tell me Julian is "a rare human being with magical gifts." In 2011, Julian serendipitously attended a party that Rebecca and Josh were hosting at the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of their film, The Big Fix, and remained in touch. "He was so moved by the idea of Kiss the Ground," Josh beams, "that he came on board as an Executive Producer and has been helping ever since." In addition to Julian's work behind the camera, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder, Patricia and David Arquette, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mraz, Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady appear in the film. Their collective passion for cultivating a healthier planet is obvious from the moment they each step onto the screen. You came on board as Executive Producer of Kiss the Ground later on in production. Did you learn about the film through your White Feather Foundation? Julian Lennon: I heard about the film through a longtime English friend, Darius Fisher, who is an incredible editor and producer, himself. I knew of some of his previous work with Rebecca and Josh Tickell, and I always loved the stuff that Josh and Rebecca have done. A few years ago, Darius said they were in the early stages of this interesting project called Kiss the Ground and were looking for guidance, support, and sponsorship; whatever I could possibly bring to the table. They showed me some of the earlier footage and immediately I fell in love with the project and wanted to be part of it. In our modern times most of us are quite disconnected from how we get our food. When we think of food insecurity, people equate it with money or the lack thereof. Most people think if they have plenty of money, they will always have plenty of food. Obviously, money is a key element here, but the part of the equation that people are missing is that the true source of our ability to feed ourselves, the true wealth, is in the earth and in our soil, which is currently compromised and proving to be a finite resource. JL: Yes, absolutely. I think 80% or 90% of people don't realize the value in soil and its health. That is one of the points that comes across in this film. Without healthy soil, we're all screwed. As they say in the film, there are more organisms in a handful of soil than there are billions of stars in the universe. Trying to get your head around that to start with is a pretty big one, but understanding that biodiversity in our soil and in our food is such an important relationship for us and all living species is key. It's about understanding and tying that to microclimates and how one thing leads to another. Without one, the other cannot survive. It is a necessity to keep the soil, and your localized soil, as healthy as it possibly can be. It is for the benefit of all. We could talk about this for hours [laughs]. Up through the very early 20th century, human beings had to work much harder for their food. They had to work hard to eat. They had to plant their fruits and vegetables, milk their own cows, raise their own chickens, cultivate their own eggs. As a result, I think they were much more connected to the life cycle and what it takes to feed ourselves. JL: Correct. And a lot of my friends and I now have greenhouses. I'm now growing all my own vegetables. I think a lot of people are really beginning to understand, especially in today's world where a lot of people are becoming sick, the relationship between health and food. In today's world you see so many people becoming sick from chemicals that are put, not only into our