The Witness - A Tribe of Heart Documentary

Inspired by the words and deeds of social justice visionaries of past eras, we create documentary films, educational web sites, critical thinking essays, teaching presentations and grassroots advocacy programs that expose hidden injustices, awaken compassion, empower individual transformation and encourage nonviolent resistance to oppression and socially sanctioned violence.

Our film subjects and fellow artists energize our creative process, while an international community of activists, translators, educators, supporters and volunteers bring our programs to life, generating a growing wave of change.

Through these collaborative efforts and in our own personal lives, we seek to develop and advance a joyful ethic of care, respect and holistic nonviolence that guides our relationships with other humans, our fellow animals and the natural world.

We invite you to join our quest to inspire every person who has the privilege of choosing how they live to help create the possibility of peace, happiness and justice for those whose choices have been taken away.

The Tribe of Heart Team

An Idea
that one person's change of heart can change the world.

Award-winning films
that awaken conscience and compassion by deepening our shared understanding of the interconnectedness of all life.

A Charitable Organization
that empowers caring individuals everywhere to work for social justice and become agents of peaceful change.

A Global Community
of people of all ages and backgrounds striving to transform our relationship to each other and our fellow beings into one based on kindness, respect and holistic nonviolence.

A Vision
of a world free of violence and full of beauty.

In 2000, social justice artists Jenny Stein and James LaVeck were inspired by the simple yet powerful idea that one person's change of heart can change the world. Together, they founded the charitable non-profit organization Tribe of Heart.

Tribe of Heart's documentaries, which focus on themes of nonviolence, moral courage, and personal transformation, have been shown in 80 film festivals around the world, receiving 18 awards, including 5 for Best of Festival and 12 for Best Documentary.

Tribe of Heart screenings often include in-depth dialogues with audience members about ethics, acts of conscience and social justice movements. The two most common responses the filmmakers receive are that the viewing experience was life-changing and that everyone needs to see this film. Propelled in part by the grassroots efforts of inspired audience members, Tribe of Heart films have been widely broadcast on public television in North America, broadcast in Europe, exhibited at hundreds of citizen-organized premieres and public screenings, and translated into 12 languages, with more soon to come.

Tribe of Heart's newest film, LEGACY, is now in post-production.

Jenny Stein and Jamse LaVeck Creative partners for more than 25 years, director Jenny Stein and Producer James LaVeck are best known for their documentary feature films, PEACEABLE KINGDOM: THE JOURNEY HOME and THE WITNESS.

Additionally, they co-founded HumaneMyth.org, an online educational resource that debunks the myth of 'humane' animal agriculture and exposes the animal-using industry's efforts to confuse the public and gain influence over the animal-protection movement. They also led a multi-year public education and legal campaign to resist the mass killing of suburban deer in their community.

James and Jenny have received four national awards for their activism, including two lifetime achievement awards. Their work has also been endorsed by the United Teacher's Federation and the California Teachers Association, and is regularly used by college professors for courses in areas such as ethics, law, philosophy, and writing.

They are now developing and teaching Holistic Nonviolence, a new path for personal transformation and social evolution that is the inspiration behind their next feature documentary, LEGACY.

Jenny and James both graduated with honors from Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences. Jenny also has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television. James has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. They live in Ithaca, New York.

Learn more
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