A special community screening of Saving Walden's World will be held Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, at 5 p.m., at Langlais Art Preserve, in Cushing. Admission is free and open to the public. A Q&A session with director Jim Merkel will follow the screening, offering the audience a direct conversation with the filmmaker about the film's vision of planetary healing, local sovereignty, and the practical alternatives being built right now by communities around the world. 

The film has received official acceptance for national distribution on PBS via NETA, a milestone for this Maine-based independent documentary that has screened at 23 international film festivals and won 14 awards, according to a Cushing Historical Society news release.

The film follows Jim Merkel, a former military engineer turned sustainability activist, as he raises his son, Walden, on an off-grid homestead in Maine and travels to Kerala (India), Cuba, and Slovenia to document women-led solutions that have successfully bypassed the growth trap of the West. By prioritizing literacy, healthcare, and reproductive freedom, these societies have built stability and equity without sacrificing quality of life, a counterpoint to the high-consumption model that is pushing the planet toward collapse, according to the release. 

The event takes place in the Langlais Art Preserve venue, which is a Georges River Land Trust property in Cushing; the Cushing Historical Society co-hosting the event. 

"Cushing is exactly the kind of community this film was made for," says Director Jim Merkel, in the news release. "A place that knows the land, values its history, and understands that how we live here in Maine is connected to how people live everywhere. I'm looking forward to the conversation."

The screening is part of the 100 Rooms. 1 Story. campaign, Saving Walden's World's worldwide screening tour bringing the film to local communities across New England and beyond, with the goal of hosting 100 screenings over the next twelve months.

Donations towards global distribution are welcome.

The Cushing Historical Society is a midcoast institution that has hosted exhibitions, lectures, concerts, and community events for generations. 

The Georges River Land Trust “conserves and cares for the diverse ecosystems and wildlife habitats of the St George River watershed, expands access to nature for all people, and collaborates with partners through education and the arts to inspire lasting kinship with the natural world”.