Award-Winning Documentary Screening – “Saving Walden’s World”

Award-Winning Documentary “Saving Walden’s World” to Screen at Live

Oak Congregation in Goleta, California

GOLETA, California | October 2026 – Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation will host a special community screening of Saving Walden’s World on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 3:00 PM in Goleta, California.

The screening comes on the heels of the film’s official acceptance for national distribution on PBS via NETA, a major milestone for this Maine-based independent documentary.

Saving Walden’s World has screened at 23 international film festivals across four continents and won 14 awards, with selections ranging from the Maine Outdoor Film Festival and Vermont Film Festival to the Love & Hope International Film Festival in Barcelona, Crown Wood International Film Festival in Kolkata, Puerto Aventuras International Film Festival in Mexico,and Five Continents International Film Festival in Venezuela. The film has also screened in New York City as part of the United Nations’ Summit of the Future. This October, it heads to California for major festival screenings including the Awareness Film Festival in Santa Monica on October 15 and UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival) on October 21.

The film was made by an acclaimed team that includes Academy Award-winning filmmaker Deborah Shaffer, who directed the Cuba segments; four-time Emmy winner Bob Maraist, cinematographer and co-producer; Kerala cinematographer David Wright, whose honors includea BAFTA and an Emmy; and editors Nyneve Minnear (Little Richard: I Am Everything) and Mickey Green (winner of five Emmys and a Peabody).

The film follows Jim Merkel, a former military engineer turned sustainability activist, as he raises his son, Walden, on an off-grid homestead in Maine and travels to Kerala (India), Cuba, and Slovenia to document women-led solutions that have successfully bypassed the growth trap of the West. By prioritizing literacy, healthcare, and reproductive freedom, these societies have built stability and equity without sacrificing quality of life.

The film’s inciting incident takes place in California, capturing Jim’s ethical crisis in the late 1980s while working as a military arms dealer for TRW. That awakening sparked a decades long journey of redemption. He shifted his life to peace, indigenous rights and bike activism in San Luis Obispo volunteering with ECOSLO, the Sierra Club and Passion for Peace. “We document societies that made college free for all, including the poorest women, over 60 years ago,” states Merkel. “When a 15-year-old girl knows her dreams to be an engineer, educator, doctor, or businesswoman won’t burden her family, her entire life changes in beautiful ways.”

The Goleta screening is organized in partnership with Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation as part of the 100 Rooms. 1 Story. campaign, Saving Walden’s World’s screening tour bringing the film to local communities across North America.

Following the screening, director Jim Merkel will lead an in-person live Q&A with the audience.

Event Details:

● WHO: Saving Walden’s World – Directed by Jim Merkel

● WHEN: Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 3:00 PM PT

● WHERE: Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation (Sanctuary), 820 N Fairview

Ave., Goleta, CA 93117

● HOST: Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation

● Reserve Your Spot: Free / Open to the public. RSVP here.

● LOCAL CONTACT: Melanie Jacobson | administrator@liveoakgoleta.org

● MEDIA CONTACT: Jim Merkel | jimimerkel@gmail.com | (207) 323-1474

● WEBSITE: savingwaldensworld.org

● TRAILER: https://youtu.be/an4LqG9mLlM

Saving Walden’s World has screened at 23 international film festivals and won 14 awards. It has

been accepted for national distribution on PBS via NETA.

Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation is a welcoming spiritual community in Goleta

dedicated to social justice, environmental justice, and peace on the Central Coast.