SYMBIOTIC EARTH explores the life and ideas of Lynn Margulis, a brilliant and radical scientist, whose unconventional theories challenged the male-dominated scientific community and are today fundamentally changing how we look at our selves, evolution, and the environment.

As a young scientist in the 1960s, Margulis was ridiculed when she first proposed that symbiosis was a key driver of evolution, but she persisted. Instead of the mechanistic view that life evolved through random genetic mutations and competition, she presented a symbiotic narrative in which bacteria joined together to create the complex cells that formed animals, plants and all other organisms - which together form a multi-dimensional living entity that covers the Earth. Humans are not the pinnacle of life with the right to exploit nature, but part of this complex cognitive system in which each of our actions has repercussions.

Filmmaker John Feldman traveled globally to meet Margulis' cutting-edge colleagues and continually asked: What happens when the truth changes? SYMBIOTIC EARTH examines the worldview that has led to climate change and extreme capitalism and offers a new approach to understanding life that encourages a sustainable and symbiotic lifestyle.

“One of the most important biographies of the last 50 years... everyone who is interested in living things, evolution, or the environment must watch this.” —Perry Marshall, author, Evolution 2.0

“SYMBIOTIC EARTH is the must see biology film of the century.” —David Morimoto, Chair, Natural Science and Mathematics, Lesley University

“Wonderful film. Informative, engaging, moving and inspiring. Just what a film about a powerful new way of thinking should be.” —James Shapiro, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago

“A great undertaking! Symbiotic Earth is a vivid portrait of a bold scientist who took us to an understanding of evolution very different than any previous one. This film represents an effervescent intelligence leading the way to a revolution in understanding life on Earth.” —Thomas E. Lovejoy, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University