Certainly the best documentary I saw at the Waterfront Film Festival recently was a collection of inspiring stories that made up “A Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action.” Filmmaker Velcrow Ripper (“Scared Sacred”) globe trots around the world looking at a vast range of people protesting various social issues and examines the notion that social action is most effective when it is deeply rooted in some form of spirituality. The documentary has received awards at numerous film festivals and it is slowing rolling out into theaters this summer with a positive, grassroots buzz growing.The movie was motivated by the tragic loss of a co-worker in a protest in Oaxaca, Mexico. After that loss, Ripper delved deeper into the connection between faith and activism and the documentary shows footage as varied as celebrity Daryl Hannah sitting in a tree protesting the destruction of farm land in California that is to be turned into a warehouse site, to conversations with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In each vignette, the point is made that compassion and a desire to peacefully connect with others is the means to true, lasting change.Watch the trailer below. You can check out numerous other clips on the film’s website.