Sanctuaries of Silence
A Listening Journey

In this immersive listening journey, acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton guides us into the Hoh Rain Forest—one of the quietest places in North America—to reconnect with the silence of the living world.
Adam Loften is an Emmy- and Peabody Award–nominated filmmaker and producer of virtual reality experiences and podcasts. His films include: Sanctuaries of Silence, The Atomic Tree, Counter Mapping, and Welcome to Canada. His work has been featured on PBS, National Geographic, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.
Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee is an author, Emmy- and Peabody Award–nominated filmmaker, and a Sufi teacher. He has directed more than twenty documentary films, including Taste of the Land, The Last Ice Age, Aloha Āina, The Nightingale’s Song, Earthrise, Sanctuaries of Silence, and Elemental, among others. His films have been screened at New York Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, and Hot Docs, exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum and London’s Barbican, and featured on PBS POV, National Geographic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Op-Docs. His first book, Remembering Earth: A Spiritual Ecology, is forthcoming from Shambhala in summer 2026. He is the founder, podcast host, and executive editor of Emergence Magazine.
Directed by Adam Loften & Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
Produced by Adam Loften & Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
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Sanctuaries of Silence: A Listening Journey
We adapted the virtual reality film Sanctuaries of Silence into an immersive listening journey through the Hoh Rain Forest, one of the quietest places in North America. In this audio story, acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton guides us in reconnecting with the silence of the living world.