Review: Josh and Rebecca Tickell give us hope with Oscar-worthy ‘Groundswell’ documentary

Award-winning filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell give us hope with their new documtary “Groundswell,” which will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on June 5th. #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos has the recap.

The synopsis is: Across five continents, the film encounters farmers, scientists, and Indigenous leaders reshaping humanity’s relationship to land.

The cast features: Demi Moore, Jaden Smith, Adrian Grenier, Jason Momoa, and Ian Somerhalder, among others.

Josh and Rebecca Tickell’s new documentary “Groundswell” is quite inspirational and food for thought. It consists of visually striking cinematography, compelling narrators, and overall, it is a deeply hopeful documentary that arrives at exactly the right moment (especially with all the unrest that is going on in the world today).

As the concluding chapter in their regenerative agriculture trilogy (after “Common Ground” and “Kiss the Ground”), “Groundswell” managers to expand its scope far beyond American farmland, traveling across continents to showcase real-world solutions to some of humanity’s most urgent challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation.

What sets “Groundswell” apart from so many environmental documentaries is its refusal to dwell in despair. Rather than overwhelming viewers with catastrophe, Josh and Rebecca Tickell focus on people already creating meaningful change—farmers, scientists, Indigenous leaders, and innovators whose work demonstrates that regeneration is not a distant ideal but a practical reality. The result is a film that feels both educational, raw, honest, and genuinely uplifting.

Once again, the documentary’s globe-spanning cinematography is breathtaking, transforming soil health and agricultural systems into captivating cinematic subjects. Narration from Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson adds warmth and accessibility without distracting from the stories being told. From the very start, Woody Harrelson reassures us that “this film is different” and unlike any other environmental films and documentaries, and rightfully so.

Most impressive is the movie’s ability to connect local successes to a broader global vision, illustrating how seemingly small changes can have profound environmental and social impacts.

While some of the science and messaging occasionally feel simplified for a mainstream audience, that’s a minor criticism in a documentary whose primary mission is to inspire action.

“Groundswell” succeeds because it offers something increasingly rare in climate storytelling: evidence-based optimism. It doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but it convincingly argues that solutions already exist if we’re willing to support them. After its two predecessors failed to earn the trilogy Academy Awards nominations for “Best Documentary Feature,” “Groundswell” is a triumph, and it deserves to have “Oscar winner” written all over it.

“Groundswell” is powerful, accessible, and ultimately energizing, and it may very well be the strongest entry in the Tickells’ trilogy and one of the most hopeful environmental documentaries in recent years. It gives viewers solutions to climate change and how we can all embark on this movement. Prepare to be blown away. It leaves viewers not with fear about the future, but with a renewed sense of optimism and possibilities. It garners an A rating. Well done.