Planet Soil makes the unseen seen. The film inspires and amazes and gives insight into the world beneath our feet. Besides the world above ground populated by plants, insects and birds, but especially by humans, there is a second world: an underground community of roots, larvae, worms, fungi, bacteria, amoebas and arthropods. The existence of this world will not surprise anyone, but the fact that all the life in that microcosm is busily communicating with each other is nothing short of astonishing. There are more living things in one teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on Earth. We are about to take the biggest turn in the history of our dealings with nature and our soil. We have to. Farmers have to change, consumers have to live more sensibly, industry has to change. But how do we tackle that? How do we learn to deal more sensibly with our soil? The film Planet Soil shows what needs to be done on a grand scale by focusing on the world around us and the fascinating world right under our feet. Actually quite extraordinary that every day we look over the nature that forms the basis of our existence on earth.
Director: Mark Verkerk
Writer: Ignas van Schaick
Producer: Ignas van Schaick
Key Cast: Marc van Will
For more than 25 years Mark has been involved in all aspects of film and television production - from camerawork, to editing and directing. But one thing has remained constant - a passion for documentary in all its forms.
Graduating from the London International Film School in 1978, Mark began work as a film editor at the ABC in Sydney, going on to be director/editor for a number of independent television projects.
Since 1990, Mark has been Creative Director at EMS FILMS, The Netherlands, writing, directing and overseeing a range of award winning programming for international broadcasters. The New Wilderness (2014) theatrical film (750.000 cinemagoers in Holland and Flanders) is Mark's biggest success to date. Buddha’s Lost (2006) Children was his first theatrical feature-length documentary.