As the Occupy Movement began to catch fire in October of 2011, the only thing the mainstream media wanted to know was, “What are your demands?” Without a clear and concise demand, they reasoned, Occupy could be dismissed as a movement not to be taken seriously, a fad.

But what the mainstream media failed to notice in all their time covering the movement was a process taking place. This process, called direct democracy, brought people together to share views, empower voices and hone decisions that affected communities. The powerful tools of consensus building and General Assemblies are quite possibly the most significant yet understated aspects of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

This video is "a look into the “HOW” of the Occupy Movement: the consensus process," said Jay Arthur Sterrenberg of Meerkat Media. "This video was put together in four days and first published on October 13, during the third week of the New York City occupation. In the Meerkat Media Collective, we have been using consensus process in our filmmaking, and we created this video early on to help people spread the word about this concept of non-hierarchical decision making and to encourage people to learn more about alternative processes we can use to build the world we want to live in. The community of occupiers at Liberty Plaza sparked the process of building a movement that now transcends any one physical landmark. The tools to keep the movement alive belong to all of us."

Filmmakers: Meerkat Media Collective