Ondi Timoner Didn’t Want to Make Documentaries Anymore – Then Came ‘Jungletown’

“There’s a real generation of young people who are facing climate disaster and aren’t content with just sitting there,” filmmaker tells TheWrap

[...] there was something about the tiny town that compelled her to not just film a documentary, rather a series called “Jungletown.”

Kalu Yala is one part budding sustainable town, one part education program, and another part business.

Timoner’s documentary series begins with the arrival of 80 interns who paid to spend a 10-week semester there, where they’ll learn to live off the land and how to build and repair aspects of the town.

According to the town’s website, a semester can cost up to $7,000.

In 2008, Stice bought 500 acres of land to build the town, but the looming financial crisis ensured that his plans were trashed.

Timoner met Stice at the annual Hatch conference — which is a summit for creators both entrepreneurial and artistic to share ideas — where they were both avoiding talks.  

“I think that the reason I’m drawn to it is because it’s the first time sustainability and issues related to climate are baked into a story that is suspense driven and makes it look possible,” Timoner said.

In the first episode, Timoner’s team interviews some of the prospective students and asks them why they decided to join the program.

“What I hope people learn is what I learned from it, which is that there’s a real generation of young people — millennials — who are facing climate disaster and aren’t content with just sitting there,” she said.