{"id":16070,"date":"2025-10-21T15:56:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/16070\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T15:56:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:56:09","slug":"will-this-75-year-old-california-man-save-our-world-a-new-documentary-asks-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/16070\/","title":{"rendered":"Will this 75-year-old California man save our world, a new documentary asks \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Filmmaker Gabe Polsky<\/a> was finishing work on a movie when his producer friend Doug DeLuca called him with a most unlikely tip.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could hear it in his voice,\u201d says Polsky on a recent video call, recalling DeLuca\u2019s hesitation to bring up his idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018This is kind of weird, and I don\u2019t know why I thought of you, but would you be open to hearing this really strange story that came across my desk?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Polsky, whose past film projects include documentary and feature films with collaborators such as Nicolas Cage, <\/a>Wayne Gretzky<\/a> and\u00a0Werner Herzog<\/a>, said yes.<\/p>\n

\"Patrick<\/p>\n

Patrick McCollum, a peace facilitator and chaplain was chosen years ago by a group of South American tribes as the man in their ancient prophecy who would help save he planet by unifying the native peoples. He\u2019s seen here in a still from director Gabe Polsky\u2019s new documentary \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/p>\n

Director Gabe Polsky is seen here talking with a priest from the Kogi indigenous tribe of Colombia. His new documentary \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d explores how the Kogi and oher indigenous tribes came to believe that a California man named Patrick McCollum would help them save the Amazon and thus the world from environmental disaster. (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The late Jane Goodall is seen in a still from director Gabe Polsky\u2019s new documentary \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d Goodall, who was a longtime friend of Patrick McCollum, was a supporter of his work as peacemaker and environmental activist as seen in the movie. (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

\"Patrick<\/p>\n

Patrick McCollum, second from right, and his friend Joey Nitollo, left meet with elders from indigenous tribes as McCollum works to bring the tribes together to help protect the environment in the Amazon and beyond. They are seen here in a still from director Gabe Polsky\u2019s new documentary \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/p>\n

Director Gabe Polsky, left, explores in his new documentary, \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d the life of Patrick McCollum, right, and how South American indigenous tribes came to believe that McCollum was the man in an ancient prophecy who would help the save the Amazon and the planet from environmental devastation. (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

\"Patrick<\/p>\n

Patrick McCollum, right, is the subject of director Gabe Polsky\u2019s new documentary, \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d In it, Polsky explores the life of McCollum and how elders from South American tribes including the Kogi, a priest from which is seen here at left, came to believe that McCollum was the man in an ancient prophecy who would help the save the Amazon and the planet from environmental devastation. (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/p>\n

Director Gabe Polsky\u2019s new documentary, \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d explores the life of Patrick McCollum and how elders from South American tribes including the Kogi, seen here, came to believe that McCollum was the man in an ancient prophecy who would help the save the Amazon and the planet from environmental devastation. (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/p>\n

Director Gabe Polsky, right, is seen with Patrick McCollum, left, in a still from his new documentary, \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d In it, Polsky explores McCollum\u2019s life and how South American indigenous tribes came to believe that McCollum was the man in an ancient prophecy who would help the save the Amazon and the planet from environmental devastation. (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/p>\n

Director Gabe Polsky, right, and Patrick McCollom are seen here in a still from Polsky\u2019s new documentary \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d which explores how several South American indigenous tribes came to believe that McCollum was the man in a prophecy who would help them save the Amazon and thus the world from environmental disaster. (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 9<\/p>\n

Patrick McCollum, a peace facilitator and chaplain was chosen years ago by a group of South American tribes as the man in their ancient prophecy who would help save he planet by unifying the native peoples. He\u2019s seen here in a still from director Gabe Polsky\u2019s new documentary \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d (Photo courtesy of Rough House Pictures and Gabriel Polsky Productions)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

This is what DeLuca told him: Several Indigenous tribes in South America had ancient prophecies that one day, when the world was ablaze, its waters filled with poison, a man with a White face and blue eyes would arrive to help unite the tribes and help them save the planet.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, the tribal elders announced that man was Patrick McCollum<\/a>, a Northern California man whose esoteric career included working as a peace facilitator in countries around the world, prison chaplain to both Charles Manson and the Menendez brothers and jewelry designer for members of the British royal family. A kung fu master, he was also a close personal friend of the late animal advocate Jane Goodall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was, to put it mildly, a lot for Polsky to take in.<\/p>\n

But it had also been a lot for McCollum. While at the 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela, a massive Hindu pilgrimage and global interfaith gathering in India, McCollum was approached by a delegation of South American Indigenous elders who told him they had determined he was the man expected in their ancient prophecy who would help their tribes save the Amazon rainforest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came up and told me it was me,\u201d McCollum, 75, who lives in Moraga, California, in the Bay Area. \u201cI said, \u2018You know, I want to be respectful, but it\u2019s not me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He told the representatives of different branches of the pre-Colombian Tairona people, a scattering of chiefdoms that today are mostly centered in the mountains of Colombia, that he appreciated the honor they wished to bestow upon him, but while he was dedicated to the pursuit of world peace, he knew nothing about the Amazon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018It\u2019s not me,\u2019\u201d McCollum says. \u201d \u2018I\u2019m not going to come to the Amazon. I\u2019m not going to do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But the elders persisted, and eventually, McCollum and his friend Joey Nitollo decided to travel to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains of Colombia to meet the Kogi people who had lived there for more than a thousand years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got on the phone with Patrick and Joey,\u201d Polsky says of his earliest encounters with McCollum after his friend made their connection. \u201cThey started talking about this prophecy and Indigenous people inviting them down. You know, I thought it was a bit kooky.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I\u2019m a very skeptical guy by nature, but something inside me, I don\u2019t know, was just open to kind of playing around with this,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When he was offered the chance to tag along with McCollum and Nitollo at no cost, he packed his bags.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, what\u2019s the worst that can happen?\u201d Polsky says. \u201cGo to this area that\u2019s very remote and learn something I didn\u2019t really know a whole lot about, like the indigenous wisdom of that culture. I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn, to say the least.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, when I went down there, it kind of slowly started getting further down the rabbit hole,\u201d he says. \u201cI was never, ever throughout this process comfortable \u2026 with the story and where this was going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?\u201d opened in limited theaters on Friday, Oct. 17, with plans to expand the release over the coming weeks. In it, Polsky and McCollum make an unlikely but terrifically engaging duo. McCollum is humble and matter-of-fact about his extraordinary life, which includes briefly dying at 15 in a motorcycle crash, a fact that decades later was important to confirming the prophecy.<\/p>\n

Polsky is the fish out of water, trailing McCollum from his home in Moraga, where he follows McCollum as he talks to his trees and Zooms with Jane Goodall. They travel together to meet the Kogis in South America and then head for New Mexico, where McCollum has been building a house by himself for several decades and Polsky might have had a UFO encounter.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an emotional, funny, hopeful film centered on the environmental crisis the planet currently faces and the beliefs of a swath of Indigenous tribes \u2013 and eventually McCollum and perhaps Polsky too \u2013 that by millions of people working together the Amazon and the world can be saved.<\/p>\n

In an interview edited for length and clarity, McCollum and Polsky, in separate video calls, talk about how they met, what they experienced together, how they viewed the ancient prophecy, and what they hope the future might bring.<\/p>\n

Q: So Patrick, how\u2019d you meet Gabe and decide to let him follow you on this journey?<\/p>\n

Patrick McCollum: I met Gabe through a mutual acquaintance. Then, when he heard I was going up in the mountains, he was saying, \u201cWow, the Kogi are like one of the most remote people. Nobody knows anything about them. They\u2019ve been removed from society for 550 years [since Spanish conquest]. Could I go along and film that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Q: What happened when you got there?<\/p>\n

McCollum: He was filming, and then I did something profound, and he happened to be filming when it was going on. In the movie, you see me handing a gold pendant to the Kogi mamos [priests]. I didn\u2019t understand in the moment, but they have this prophecy that a guy would come and restore the spirit of the Kogi people and would help reunite the Tairona people, which were the Kogi and three other nations that were destroyed by the Spanish.<\/p>\n

Q: In the movie, you learn that the Spanish stole all the gold, and your gift helped restore some of that.<\/p>\n

McCollum: Their story of creation said that the first thing the Creator made was the spirit of gold, and it animated all of creation. What we call our souls, our spirit and such came from the gold. The Spanish took all that, and they\u2019ve been asking for 550 years for somebody to return their gold.<\/p>\n

I had this pendant, which was precious to me. It was my most precious thing, but was moved to give it to them, and Gabe captured that. We came to learn that what they needed required a sacrifice from someone that would be so deep that the gesture would restore the spirit of the Kogi. So then they just said, straight out, \u201cYou just restored our spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

I said, \u201cYou have these other tribes that you\u2019re distant from, but you\u2019re all in the same region. Why don\u2019t we all get together since I\u2019m here, and we can talk about that. They brought the elders from the different nations together, and we danced together and did ceremony together. Gabe filmed all of that. They made the decision to reunite as the Tairona people for the first time in 550 years.<\/p>\n

Q: Gabe, what was it like as you started down the rabbit hole with Patrick?<\/p>\n

Gabe Polsky: It was a constant state of inner frustration and kind of like doubt. What am I doing? Where is this going? Do I believe this? This is really trippy. There were times where I would kind of put the thing down and almost stop doing it. But something inside me knew that there was a lot of meaning here and that I could tell a really entertaining story that was different.<\/p>\n

It was incredibly uncomfortable because it was charting different territory, and I didn\u2019t know why I was doing it. But yeah, something was pulling me along. And the thing too was partially Patrick and his character, knowing that whatever happened to the prophecy, at least I could tell and entertaining story on a really compelling character.<\/p>\n

But beyond that, you have prophecy, you have the Amazon, you have Indigenous wisdom. And then beyond that, you have questioning: What stories do we believe? Why? What is all this? In this world of confusion that we live in, it\u2019s hard not to have a lot of doubt about things and sort of be confused about\u00a0what do I believe?<\/p>\n

Q: Patrick, how did you eventually come to understand the prophecy?<\/p>\n

McCollum: It\u2019s a little confusing because it\u2019s actually two different prophecies happening at the same time. You have the Kogi prophecy, and then you have what\u2019s called the Roxa prophecy, which was more deeply amongst the people of the Amazon down below [the Kogi] in the jungles.<\/p>\n

The Roxa prophecy said that when the Creator made the Amazon, what they call the heart of the world, or the lungs of the world, the first thing the Creator made was the condor. Not the bird, but the spirit of it, and that spirit would be the highest being above all things.<\/p>\n

That Roxa prophecy said that when the Amazon was burning, the water became poison, the animals are dying and Indigenous people are being eradicated, that spirit would come down into a man or woman and would unite the Indigenous people and save the heart of the world. Meaning, I would be like the catalyst that would allow them to come together when previously they didn\u2019t know each other, they had conflicts with each other.<\/p>\n

Separate from that, there\u2019s a different prophecy called the Eagle-Condor prophecy, a North American prophecy really. It says that long ago the people the people of the Amazon and South America used to be in brother- and sisterhood with the Indigenous people of North America, the Native Americans and First Peoples there, and they were separated over time.<\/p>\n

That prophecy says the Eagle, meaning the people of North America, and the Condor, meaning the people of South America, will reunite for the first time in thousands of years and become a unified force to have other Indigenous people join them to change the future of humanity and the planet.<\/p>\n

Q: That sounds a lot like your longtime work as a facilitator for peace between peoples around the world.<\/p>\n

McCollum: It\u2019s directly the same.<\/p>\n

Q: You did a background check on Patrick to make sure all the things he said he\u2019d done checked out. When were you satisfied he checked out?<\/p>\n

Polsky: You saw the Jane [Goodall] thing. I mean that [Zoom call between Patrick and Jane] was absolutely essential for this movie. Because at that point in the film, I think a lot of people might have clicked away if she wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

And as you see in the film, he lives humbly and does a lot of stuff himself. That\u2019s inspiring. You\u2019re just constantly in a state of being inspired. You\u2019re just like, how does a man have enough time to learn all these things? There\u2019s a lot of magical feelings about him.<\/p>\n

Q: You came in a skeptic. How did making the film change you?<\/p>\n

Polsky: It has opened me up to \u2013 and maybe it was just the right time in my life, being in middle age, asking a lot of questions. I have gotten more interested in the unseen and Indigenous people, how they connect to the earth. It\u2019s like things that we may not perceive in our reality because our stories might not allow that in.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not wholeheartedly believing everything I hear, or rather, I believe it if I can experience it myself, but maybe I can develop tools to better experience things. I can somehow open my mind up enough to let more in.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0 Patrick, it was sweet and touching to see Jane in the film so soon after her death.<\/p>\n

McCollum: My friend Jane was a major promoter of this film. She believed that everyone should see it because she felt it brought hope, but it also showed that the pathway to succeeding as a humanity and a planet that works is doable. We can all do it. Me, anyone, it takes all of us.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 21, 2025 at 8:33 AM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Filmmaker Gabe Polsky was finishing work on a movie when his producer friend Doug DeLuca called him with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,1399,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-16070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}