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​The Call
of a Nation

A feature documentary built from the words of six representative-voices — ordinary Americans surfaced from a national assembly of thousands — whose live speeches in Chicago on the country's 250th anniversary form a master class in what America stands for in 2026.

What do we actually stand for?

On July 9, 2026 — the 158th anniversary of the 14th Amendment — one representative voice will take the stage in Chicago and deliver a moral vision for America. They were not chosen by donors, parties, or pundits. They were surfaced by their fellow citizens, through thousands of hours of listening on the Synanim platform, an online assembly where Americans gathered in small groups to answer one question: What moral vision do you hold for your nation? The most empathetic and emotionally literate voices rose to the top.
​
The Call of a Nation is built around their words, the country's moral inheritance, and the film moves through those values one by one, illustrated by a four-week pilgrimage across America, from the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace to the Chicago lakefront. The result is a portrait of what Americans actually believe in 2026, told by Americans, made for every American to see.
Date:
July 9, 2026
Location:
Chicago Lakefront
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THE
ASSEMBLY

July 6–7, 2026

On July 6 and 7, the project will transition into a massive virtual gathering on the Synanim Platform. Thousands of citizens will enter an online space designed to filter national noise into a clear moral signal. For the participant, the assembly will be a transformative experience of deep listening; it will offer a rare, anonymous, and focused environment where typical shouting matches of the internet are replaced by profound human connection and reflection.

01

SMALL-GROUP ANONYMOUS LISTENING

Citizens will gather in virtual rooms where anonymity ensures that every voice is judged solely on the merit and depth of the vision shared.

02

ANSWERING THE CENTRAL MORAL QUESTION

Every participant will address the core of the project: What moral vision do you hold for your nation?

03

PEER-DRIVEN ELEVATION

Through successive rounds, peers will elevate those individuals who demonstrate the highest levels of empathy and emotional literacy.

The Call of a Nation

House of 8 Media  ·  The Outlands  ·  Directed by Mike Buffo

The Team

Mike and Brittney Buffo are the documentary team behind the film. Mike is Director of Photography/Director and Brittney is the Producer and Lead Writer.

Their collaboration is built on more than a decade of shared work in their marriage: from 2010 to 2017, they ran the HARA Motion Picture Conservatory, a nonprofit organization through which they taught teenagers how to write, act in, and produce their own films. That work shaped everything that followed — a practice grounded in patience, collaboration, and the belief that real stories, told honestly, can change how people see the world.

Their documentary Bohemian Soul: A Colony Awakens captures both the founding bohemians of Carmel-by-the-Sea and the living artists carrying that tradition forward — a portrait of place, purpose, and creative inheritance.
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Mike's most recognized work is Condor Canyon, a feature documentary currently airing on PBS stations nationwide that has screened more than 350 times across more than 35 states. 
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Let's love this country back together.

The National Pilgrimage is a non-partisan initiative fiscally sponsored by The Outlands, a 501(c)(3) organization. Led by a volunteer team of artists, community leaders, and documentary filmmakers, the project seeks to generate a new moral vision for the United States of America through reckoning, relationship-building, and collective dreaming.

Stay connected and follow the National Pilgrimage and Assembly by subscribing to the Bison Medicine Dispatch on Substack.
Our partners:
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© 2026 National Pilgrimage. All Rights Reserved.
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