8 Eye-Opening Documentaries Every Soil Lover Must Watch
If you want to understand why soil matters — not just intellectually but in your bones — there’s no better entry point than documentary film. The right film can shift your perspective in 90 minutes in a way that a thousand infographics can’t.
These are the eight I recommend to everyone. Watch even one and I promise you’ll look at the ground differently.
Kiss the Ground (2020)
This was a door-opener for me. It shows how regenerative agriculture can be a genuine game-changer for climate, water and food security. Narrated by Woody Harrelson, it’s accessible without dumbing anything down. Start here.
The Biggest Little Farm (2018)
A couple buys barren land and spends eight years turning it into a flourishing diverse farm. It’s not a lecture — it’s a love story. And the proof it contains about what harmonious farming looks like is quietly extraordinary.
Fantastic Fungi (2019)
I’m a broken record about this one. The mycelial network beneath healthy soil is one of the most intelligent and ancient systems on earth. This film made me appreciate just how much wisdom is living under our feet. Genuinely magical filmmaking.
2040: Join the Regeneration (2019)
Australian filmmaker Damon Gameau asks what the world could look like by 2040 if we embraced the best existing solutions. It’s hopeful without being naive — which is a rare thing. Great one to watch if you’re feeling overwhelmed by climate news.
To Which We Belong (2021)
A stark and honest look at how modern agriculture has accelerated climate change — and what a handful of farmers are doing differently. It nudged me to think harder about our relationship with land and what “sustainable” actually means.
Rachel’s Farm (2023)
Actress Rachel Ward turns the camera on her own land in NSW and her journey into regenerative farming. Against the backdrop of Australia’s Black Summer fires, it’s both harrowing and quietly hopeful. Very close to home for an Australian audience.
A Life on Our Planet (2020)
David Attenborough’s most personal film. He calls it his witness statement — a reflection on 94 years of watching the natural world change. It’s a call to action that earns its emotion. If you watch one film on this list with your kids, make it this one.
Living Soil (2018)
A shorter, more technical watch — but if you want to understand the actual science of soil biology, this is the clearest explanation I’ve found. Farmers, scientists, policymakers all pointing toward the same goal: restore the living system beneath us.
“Every one of these films left me feeling more connected to the ground I walk on — and more convinced that what we do with it matters enormously.”
If any of these films send you down a rabbit hole and you want to go further, the Secrets of the Soil podcast is 89 conversations with people living these ideas every day.
📄 Browse the full documentary guide or save it for later:
⬇ Download the PDF
