The multiple award-winning documentary Back to the Garden: Flower Power Comes Full Circle is from American-director Kevin Tomlinson who revisits a group of “back-to-the-land hippies” that the director first interviewed in 1988. At the time, the off-the-grid group of individuals were living in Washington State, completely insulated from mainstream culture and Tomlinson went back to see where they are at today.
Produced by Heaven Scent Films, the 70 minute documentary follows the journey of the young Seattle filmmaker who took a road trip in 1988 and along the way found what then seemed like a nearly extinct breed: flower-power children. Tomlinson had wandered into the “Healing Gathering” in the backcountry of Eastern Washington.
Twenty years after Woodstock, this semi-isolated group of individuals were dedicated to living off the grid, growing their own food, seeking values that had little to do with income. Tomlinson was smitten with his discovery, but when he screened the footage with friends back in 1988, it seemed like a cliché and strangely nostalgic. So the idyllic scenes lay in boxes, composting slowly in Tomlinson’s basement, but even though he wasn’t sure where to go with the footage, he could not quite let go of the ephemeral images captured on those sunny, pastoral slopes.
“I found strong, articulate, engaged community-minded men and women who defy the perceived mass media stereotype. I found grass roots activism. I found thriving families and an organized, cohesive, alternative community…” explains Tomlinson. “As a group I found them to be role models for choosing to live by the strength of their convictions: self-reliant, fallible yet determined…striving to live with purpose. Their love and dedication to defend an imperilled Mother Earth should resonate with many of us given today’s global challenges.”
In 2005, producer Judy Kaplan, and Tomlinson revisited the footage and were captivated with the notion of seeing if they might find some of the original members of the 1988’s Healing Gathering to learn what had happened to these now aging flower-power children. Their message now seemed prescient—the notion of reduced consumerism, growing food and investing in grassroots, holistic communities are all becoming more commonplace. Did these hippie values stand the test of time or did they just fold right back into the cultural fabric?
Tomlinson and Kaplan took a new road trip and along the way compiled interviews with many of the original residents.
“They offer a reminder that there are other choices to the mainstream. They’ve shown that opting out of the dominant culture can succeed. They’ve walked their talk for over 30 some years...” explains Tomlinson. “This community of people I met somehow stuck it out, assimilated into their small, rural and conservative communities. They have become respected role models as organic farmers, teachers, community organizers, and political activists.”
Back to the Garden is a stunningly beautiful film offering so much more than just magic buses and tepees in a meadow filled with beaded hippies communing with nature—it is a heartfelt and poignant examination of past values that are relevant to present needs—it is about where these lives went and what it means to go ‘back to the garden.’
Visit: www.backtothegardenfilm.com
Pamela Biery is a freelance writer and communications professional living in Seattle. Her work has appeared in regional and national publications. She maintains the website www.PamelaB.com and the blog www.ExploringEmily.com
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