From Near and Far, Exploring What Community Is All About

It’s quite a trek from the Caribbean to Waterloo, Ontario, but last week a documentary film crew found its way here to capture some views of community-building.

The crew from Sympactful Wellness Media, based in the Cayman Islands, came to Waterloo to talk to Paul Born, Tamarack President, about community-building. 

They filmed Paul in his office during the day, and in the evening they hung out with Paul and his neighbours as they enjoyed a potluck meal together and sat around a fire chatting with each other.

The filmmakers are exploring the attributes of a strong community and how people benefit from social connection. But that wasn’t their original premise – early on, their theme took an unexpected turn.

Tamer Soliman, director, originally planned to do a documentary about a Rastafarian community in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains. But after going there and meeting the people, Tamer was impressed by the happiness they derived from living in a tightly knit community. He started wondering: How can people create similarly strong communities in different environments?

That has led Sympactful Wellness Media to Tamarack and other places as they examine community connectedness and the important role it plays in our lives, health, and well-being. 

Their film is set to be released in 2017.