Wise woman Radio

"Juliette of the Herbs" with Tish Streeten

Kris Steinnes

Susun Weed interviews Tish Streeten,
documentary filmmaker and
student of herbal medicine



MP3 File

 


Tish Streeten has been making documentary films for almost 30 years and a student of herbal medicine for more than 40 years. Her documentary film, Juliette of the Herbs (1998), a portrait of the grandmother of today's herbal movement, won an IDA (International Documentary Association) nomination, many awards, has been shown in festivals and theatres across the country and internationally, and was shown on PBS and television stations around the world.

Tish Streeten was born and grew up in Oxford, England. After high school she travelled throughout Europe and JulietteNorth America working on farms and gardens. She studied agricultural botany at the University College of North Wales, and French Intensive biodynamic gardening in Santa Barbara. She lived in Sicily for three years working as a gardener/teacher with Danilo Dolci’s Centro Studi e Iniziative.

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 (1984), 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. Tish produced, directed and edited Sicilian Sojourn (1990), a 20 minute documentary on responsible tourism and the cultural traditions of Sicily. She also co-produced and edited Ecological Design: Inventing the Future (1994), which has won many awards and was shown at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. She was researcher and co-producer of Sangoma (1996), a film for Canadian television about traditional healers in South Africa. Tish also worked on the highly acclaimed television series, Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers.

Tish formed her production company, Mab Films, to produce and distribute documentaries on herbal medicine, women, the environment and the cultural traditions of the world. Tish's films are made with an intimate knowledge, caring and respect for her subjects. She is currently working on a film called Tulsi, Queen of Herbs, about the medicinal, ecological and spiritual uses of the holy basil plant.

Juliette of the Herbs DVD

juliette of the herbs Juliette de Bairacli Levy: Herbalist, author, breeder of Afghan hounds, friend of the Gypsies, traveler in search of herbal wisdom and a pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine.

Juliette's well-loved and now classic herbals for animals and for children have been a vital inspiration for the present-day herbal renaissance and holistic animal-care community. For more than 60 years Juliette has lived with the Gypsies, nomads and peasants of the world, learning the healing arts of these peoples who live close to nature, and listening to nature herself.

Juliette's life story is as colorful and as exciting as her tremendous wealth of herbal knowledge. Filmed on location in Greece, Spain, France, Portugal, Switzerland, England and America, and interwoven with Juliette's vast collection of archival photographs, together with scenes of Gypsies dancing and Bedouins with their herds, this is an inspiring portrait of a remarkable woman.

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