Natasha Deganello Giraudie is a mother, filmmaker and nature practice teacher interested in helping people deepen their relationship with the Earth. Her most recent film, One Word Sawalmem, which she co-directed with Michael "Pom" Preston of the Winnemem Wintu tribe of Mt. Shasta, won a number of awards and was selected for 40+ festivals in 15 countries. It was screened at the Smithsonian, UNESCO conferences and is scheduled to be broadcast on PBS.
Through her nature practice courses and retreats, Natasha helps earth-loving, intuitively-curious women enjoy greater calm, clarity and courage. She has taught this work at Stanford University, for the United Nations, the San Francisco Botanical Garden and One World Ayurveda in Bali, as well as in her online community.
Her work is influenced by more than 20 years of studying with the Dalai Lama and nature retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh; learning from some of the great naturalists of our time and spending time with indigenous wisdom keepers from Venezuela, where she’s from, to California, where she currently lives.
Natasha's story and projects have been featured on Yes! Magazine, mindbodygreen, PBS KCET, News from Native California, Threads of the Sun, and the Unstuck podcast.
Awards & Accolades
An important film with heart and soul.”
American Indian Film Festival – Best Doc Short
"a wonderful film on the climate crisis with a dedicated journey on the most optimistic and positive path to save this planet.”
Druk International Film Festival – Best Documentary Film: Outstanding Achievement Award
"a powerful film that opens our eyes to something we see every day and inspires us to see this magical creation with new vision, and protect it with new resolve."
Culture & Diversity Film Festival – Best Environmental Film
“a beautiful reminder that water is sacred”
Durango Independent Film Festival – Best Native Cinema Film
“A must see.”
Amdocs
“ a film of great power and purpose – it explains the Indigenous understanding and knowledge of the interdependence amongst all life on this planet.”
Native Spirit Film Festival
"wonderful use of a personal story to address a global issue."
San Francisco Documentary Film Festival
"this film brought the sacred into the conversation. I was engaged the whole time."
Eugene Environmental Film Festival
"spirituality in an academic world, trying to teach a collective worldview of how the Native cultures are important & taking that spirituality and applying it to environmental issues & how we should be caring for them."
Dreamspeakers Film Festival
"a film that aims at a fundamental task of the 21st century: the need to relearn to live in harmony with the planet".
Muestra Cine+Video Indigena
"shows us the power of Native organizations that fight for the environment and the recovery of ancestral knowledge – an example in which we all have to participate"
Muestra Cine+Video Indigena
"Who are we? Where are we? What did we create? These big questions are taken with simplicity in this beautiful journey. The film doesn't provide us the answers, but encourages us to find them… “
Prague International Indie Film Festival
"As timely as it is illuminating. Reminding us that there is a different way to see and approach our world by awakening to the interconnected nature of all things. The film delivers a powerful message. "
Cleveland International Film Festival
"an important message of indigenous wisdom - and how the collective actions of people can heal our planet. As humans, we need to step into the flow of our natural world, listen carefully and respond with care and responsibility"
Singapore Environmental Film Festival
“an inspiring movie that makes you connect with nature from a new point of view – more intimate and more spiritual.
Suncine Barcelona Environmental Film Festival
“inspires even the most uninformed to start their journey of saving our planet.”
Oakland Short Film Festival
American Indian Film Festival – Best Doc Short
Culture & Diversity Film Festival – Best Environmental Film
Red Nation International Film Festival – Best Documentary Short
Tagore International Film Festival – Outstanding Achievement Award
FICLAPAZ - La Paz International Film Festival – Short Film Award
IndieFest – Award of Excellence: Film Short
WRPN Women's International Film Festival – Award of Excellence
American Indian Film Festival – Finalist
Tribeca Film Institute, short film program If/Then – Finalist
Indy Shorts International Film Festival – Academy-Award-qualifying
Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, BAFTA-qualifying – Finalist
OtherMovie Lugano – Semi-Finalist
Select Media Coverage
7 Things I Learned
from collaborating with Indigenous wisdom keepers. An opinion piece I wrote for one of my very favorite magazines, on what I learned by working with Michael "Pom" Preston on our film One Word Sawalmem.
Sing to the Earth
in this conversation, we take a deep dive into how we can live in right relationship with our mother Earth and why that feels so essential for humans right now. You will find some bits of laughter, guidance and an invitation to Sing to the Earth. It's also a prelude to Love Letter to the Earth by Thich Nhat Hanh, which I had an opportunity to collaborate on with my dear friend Addison Brown, the podcast's host.
Awakening to life
and finding deeper soul nourishment from everyday nature with Natasha Deganello Giraudie.
A conversation with Josje Leyton on the Threads of the Sun podcast.
Reflections on Receiving the Magic of the Ephemeral
what ten years of practicing Día de los Muertos has taught me about life.
An article I wrote as a guest contributor for mindbodygreen.
Helping sacred water heal
people, land, spirit and salmon.
An article about our film by Hanh Truong for PBS KCET, Southern and Central California.
The sacred lesson from nature
that healed my burnout – for good.
An article featuring my nature practice work in mindbodygreen.
Building a nature practice
for your body, mind and spirit with Natasha Deganello Giraudie.
A conversation with Shawn Mynar on the Unstuck podcast.
One Word Sawalmem is a reminder
for how to live in reciprocity with the Earth.
An article about our film by Ishmael Elias in the Winter 2020 issue of News from Native California.
Healing our relationship with the Earth
an interview with Michael "Pom" Preston and Natasha Deganello Giraudie.
An article about our film by Dan Bacher for Red, Green and Blue.
Nature Practice Meditation & Conversation
special event for the Singapore Eco Film Festival, with festival ambassador, Liz Lazan, and Natasha Deganello Giraudie.
If you would like to feature our story
or invite us for a speaking engagement, please let us know what you have in mind.
