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Tish Streeten has been making documentary films for more than 15
years. She has been studying herbal medicine for more than 30 years.
Juliette of the Herbs, a feature length documentary portrait of
the grandmother of today's herbal movement, has won many awards and has been
shown in festivals and theatres across the country and internationally. The
success of this film is a result of Tish's deep understanding of the subject
matter and her talent as a filmmaker. |
Tish Streeten was born and grew up in Oxford, England. She studied
agricultural botany at the University College of North Wales and then decided
she could learn more from practical work in the field. For the next ten years
she worked throughout Europe and America as an organic farmer, gardener, fruit
picker and herbalist. In 1979 she went to work with Danilo Dolci in Sicily as
the resident gardener for the Centro Studi e Iniziative. Tish was in Sicily for
almost three years. |
 Tish Streeten (right) with Juliette de
Bairacle Levy |
In 1982 Tish came to New York to make documentary films, studying
for one year at New York University with George Stoney and Brian Winston. Here
she made her first film, Community Dig, a short documentary about an
archaeological excavation in Greenwich Village, which aired on public
television. Tish has since worked as producer, editor, researcher,
post-production supervisor, sound editor, sound recordist and assistant editor
on many independent, cable and public television documentaries. Recently Tish
produced, directed and edited Sicilian Sojourn, a 20 minute documentary
on responsible tourism and the cultural traditions of Sicily. She also
co-produced and edited Ecological Design: Inventing the Future, which
has won many awards and was shown at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. She was
researcher and co-producer of Sangoma, a film for Canadian television
about traditional healers in South Africa. A few years ago Tish worked on the
highly acclaimed television series, Healing and the Mind with Bill
Moyers. She is currently producing two series - one called Green
Witches, on women herbalists and traditional healers world wide; and
another, Trees That Heal, about medicinal trees world wide. Juliette
of the Herbs is Tish's first feature length documentary.
Tish formed her production company, Mabinogion Films, to produce
and distribute documentaries on women, the environment and the cultural
traditions of the world. The Mabinogion are a collection of mediaeval Welsh
romances of Celtic origin. The word mabinogion means storytelling. Tish's films
are made with an intimate knowledge, caring and respect for her subjects.
Sicilian Sojourn grew out of three years living and working with the
people of Sicily. Juliette of the Herbs was seven years in the making.
For Tish, the film making process is one of organic growth. Tish produces,
directs, writes, edits and records sound for her films. She also does the
research, fund-raising and distribution. |