In my heart of hearts, I’m a rebel… I’m healthiest, most creative and productive when I’m in touch with my rebel self.

The George Lakey Documentary Film presents the life and work of a nonviolent revolutionary, a deeply spiritual man with a rebel heart, who has been guided in life by his ideal of societal transformation.

 

Since the age of 19, George has been conscious of his life’s purpose – to use whatever gifts he has to work for justice and peace. Today, at 83 years of age, George’s message is more urgent than ever. His story will provide life-giving lessons to those struggling to make sense of the current troubling political climate, illuminate a path forward, and inspire those willing to work for change to face today’s moment.

Our film will move back and forth in time, highlighting specific events of George’s activist life — including building the movement against the Vietnam war, LGBTQ actions, Peace Brigades in Sri Lanka and the more recent Earth Quaker Action Team’s campaign persuading PNC Bank to stop financing mountaintop removal coal mining. Each of these events and actions will reveal the universal truths of his message and show how we can apply learnings from the past to the actions of today, even in our current polarized society.

The documentary builds a life, layer by layer. It is a portrait of a rebel with a mission and an uncanny skill for serving up whatever the situation needs — fire or water, heat or cold — by asking himself, “Where can I make a contribution? Where am I led?”


Grassroots supporters are going all-in to insure this project can be completed and offered out to public television, streaming platforms, and active grassroots social justice groups as soon as possible.

Please join us in making a donation now towards completion of the inspirational trailer to the film that will be used to leverage the much larger funds needed to finance the full production.

The Director

The George Lakey Documentary Film Project is directed by Glenn Holsten, a storyteller who creates human-driven films, from the arts to the sciences. Glenn has directed nearly two dozen full-length documentaries that have been screened at film festivals, broadcast on public television and cable television, and now are featured on a multitude of streaming platforms. Glenn is deeply interested in exploring issues around social justice and mental health. He is drawn to stories of beauty and struggle, recovery and hope.

Glenn has directed dozens of award-winning short films, including Beyond the Bullet: Gun Violence Survivors Speak. He recently completed We Breathe, We Live: Brotherly Love Protest Stories, a film that uses the power of storytelling to present the first-person experiences of men who participated in the Black Lives Matters protests in Philadelphia during the summer of 2020.

Click here to see the trailer for Holsten's film WYETH, a documentary portrait of American painter Andrew Wyeth.