Rosario Dawson: 'Common Ground' reminds people to care about nature, food

NEW YORK, April 22 (UPI) -- Ahsoka, Dopesick, Sin City and Rent icon Rosario Dawson says she hopes her documentary, Common Ground, makes people more mindful about where their food comes from.

"I was really dumbfounded when I realized we had literally taken ourselves out of the definition of 'nature,' that human beings are what observe nature and witness it, but we're not actually a part of it," Dawson, 45, recently told UPI in a phone interview.

"That disassociation is a lot of how we've come to where we are now," she said. "Going back to nature, connecting with that, I think is going to resolve so many different issues for our health -- our mental health, emotional health, spiritual health -- and just our connection with each other."

Premiering on Prime Video on Earth Day Tuesday, the film was helmed by Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell. In addition to Dawson, it features Laura Dern, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Jason Momoa, Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed promoting the virtues of regenerative agriculture.

Dawson said the film's title, Common Ground, says it all.

"This belies culture and border and race and gender and age and class," she noted.

"This is literally the thing that can kind of galvanize us and bring us all together," the actress added. "I love that it literally brings us back to our roots, our ancestry and reminds us of the descendants that we are and that we are the ancestors for our kids to come."

The documentary doesn't just spotlight problems, it offers solutions.

"It gives us a chance to get an education and learning and awareness that isn't just scary, but actually shows us how we can protect ourselves going forward. We can capture more carbon in the ground than we have in the air," Dawson said.

"When you know that you can reverse climate change, I think that makes this probably the most hopeful documentary about climate change that I've ever experienced."

Specifically, Dawson said she appreciates that the film is trying to influence the U.S. Farm Bill, the current version of which expires in September.

"Kiss the Ground, [the Tickells' 2020 documentary,] gave a lot of awareness and this one is understanding that policy need to back that up," she said.

Encouraging "climate-courageous candidates" to run for office and teaching school-age children to love and protect the Earth can go a long way towards protecting our land and the food it yields, Dawson emphasized.

"We need to be subsidizing the things that make us healthy and better and not worse. And I love that this film helps us to walk ourselves through it, so we can see just how dire and urgent that need is," she added.

"We can take over our lawns and start growing things and eat locally, but I think voting and knowing that we can make an impact on that level is what's going to take us [to the finish line] because we don't have time."

Dawson said it has been easy to find fellow travelers who are willing to offer their time and talent, as well as their money, to causes they believe in.

"You're seeing quite a lot of it and it's just growing," she said.

"You're seeing in the age of social media just how many people are interested in and engaged and active and we're all media now. We all have access to promote a project and advocate for and, also, just research, download, communicate with each other, collaborate and I think it's just been nice to see how that's become easier and easier."

The documentary is on-brand for the actress, known for choosing projects that are smart, entertaining, conversation-starters.

"I feel so blessed that my very first film Kids [in 1995] touched on so many important and provocative subjects about poverty and latch-key kids and drugs and HIV and AIDS and rape and homelessness," she said.

"It feels like a time capsule," Dawson added. "But it was the first time, for me, seeing protagonists that look like my neighborhood and people I grew up around, the complications of it and how all of these different things intersect with each other and people's access to resources and I just was so moved because I still have people today say how much that film impacted their life and made them think about things differently and make different choices for themselves."

At this point in her life, Dawson said she's prioritizing her personal life over her career.

"I've sacrificed a lot of time and energy," she said.

"You don't have over 100 credits on IMDB without being a workaholic," Dawson joked. "I've always been like: 'I want to have that Sam Jackson career. I want to do all the things and be in all the universes,' and now what I'm really just craving is just spending time with my family and my friends. Everyone's growing up. I've got kids in college now. It's an existential crisis, but it's a good one."