documentary
ccc: 14 civilian conservation corps films, maps, and more!
https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm%3Fid%3D282CCF15-155D-451F-67991A3280E8BA3F https://www.mnopedia.org/civilian-conservation-corps-minnesota-1933-1942 https://www.pbs.org/video/oregon-experience-civilian-conservation-corps/ https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=a205b06f8d7e4c5ab5658e11951673a0 https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/artifact/civilian-conservation-corps https://theconversation.com/fdrs-forest-army-how-the-new-deal-helped-seed-the-modern-environmental-movement-85-years-ago-91617 https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/artifact/boys-ccc
watch: pbs documentary on the civilian conservation corps
In March 1933, within weeks of his inauguration, President Franklin Roosevelt sent legislation to Congress aimed at providing relief for unemployed American workers. He proposed the Civilian Conservation Corps to provide jobs in natural resource conservation. Over the next decade, the CCC put more than three million young men to work in the nation's forests and parks, planting trees, building […]
tending the wild
gathering medicine: how native medicinal practices are thriving today https://www.kcet.org/shows/tending-the-wild/episodes/gathering-medicine Indigenous peoples in California relied on traditional gathering to provide for all of their food and medicinal needs. California's landscapes produce hundreds of indigenous plant species that have been used thousands of years prior to European contact. And many of these plants and their preparations […]
all watched over by machines of loving grace (tv series)
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace is a BBC television documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis.[1] In the series, Curtis argues that computers have failed to liberate humanity, and instead have "distorted and simplified our view of the world around us."[2] The title is taken from a 1967 poem of the same name by Richard Brautigan.[3] The first episode was originally broadcast at 9 pm on […]
national premiere of 'The Response: How Puerto Ricans Are Restoring Power to the People'
This Earth Day, April 22 at 7pm EST, Free Speech TV brings to viewers their micro-budget documentary film: The Response: How Puerto Ricans Are Restoring Power to the People". The 30-minute film explores the remarkable resilience among communities that arises in the aftermath of disasters, specifically, after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. It gives […]
New Documentary Release from Indie Lens Storycast: The Seed Saver
ITVS’s Indie Lens Storycast releases the new short documentary The Seed Saver by director John Picklap. The Seed Saver explores a young Korean-American farmer’s mission to save heritage seeds from her native land. Adopted by an Irish-Catholic family on Long Island as a baby, Kristyn Leach grew up outside of Korean culture. When she moved […]
the strategy of crooked cucumbers
In the southwest German city of Freiburg, there is a successful co-op of some 260 people who are participating in successful organic vegetable gardening and sharing the costs and risks. Whatever the harvest, good or poor, it’s distributed to all members. Cucumbers are allowed to be bent, carrots entwined, the occasional lettuce smaller than average. […]
woodlanders - exploring the work of people who depend on and care for forests
[vimeo 197579043 w=640 h=360] Woodlanders is an online film series that seeks to document the work of people who care for and depend on forests for their livelihood and well-being throughout the world. They are up to 21 episodes now, and each episode focuses on a person or culture who has a sustainable relationship and/or livelihood […]
chasing coral - run to see this!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6fHA9R2cKI?ecver=1&w=640&h=360] A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling adventure to document the disappearance of the world's coral reefs, this documentary is the result of 3 years work and hundreds of hours of underwater footage. Corals are a fundamental part of the planetary and oceanic ecosystem (supporting 25% of marine […]
watch: rodents of unusual size
A new documentary tells the tale of the hunters waging war against an invasive swamp rodent species, the nutria, in Louisiana. There is a government bounty on the heads (or tails) of the 20lb, orange-toothed critters - $5 for each severed 12-18in tail collected. Nutiva grazing habitats adds to coastal erosion in a region whose land […]
evolution of organic premiers at ecofarm conference, jan. 27
See a special sneak-preview of this inspiring new documentary at the EcoFarm Conference on January 27. Spoiler: Sev and the Greenhorns make a cameo.
new short film by les blank
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqRxBjEaaKk] In 1967 Les Blank and Skip Gerson were hired to work in Thailand on a documentary about the B52 Bomber. There were some problems getting access to the planes. Weeks went by with Les and Skip on payroll, but with nothing to shoot. So they began traveling around the country shooting whatever they […]
[vimeo 124611294 w=640 h=352] Disillusioned by a cultural story of consumption and alienation, a newly married couple are called to action. Carrying with them their unborn child, they embark on a year-long journey around the UK, searching for the seeds of an alternative culture and with it hope for the future. we the uncivilized: A Life Story resonates deeply with […]
the seeds of vandana shiva
You've probably heard of Vandana Shiva--Indian author, environmental activist, and founder of Navdanya. Now comes a new documentary film about her life titled The Seeds of Vandana Shiva. Watch the trailer below: [vimeo 133208432 w=640 h=360] To help fund this film, please consider a donation.
beautiful new hopeful documentary on solutions to the current eco-crisis
[vimeo 171389901 w=640 h=360] Ryan Wirick, a documentary filmmaker is looking for help supporting and funding his new feature-length documentary, The Need To GROW, a "solution-packed journey into the lives of those working to fix our broken food system in the US. It focuses on SOLUTIONS (activism, permaculture, farmer's markets and many many more), to localize […]
what kind of farming will we have in the next century??
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYPAGC2m2lc] Seriously, we really want to know, and so do these film makers. Specifically, they're focussing on the chicken industry, asking, if chicken is America’s favorite meat, generating more than $30 billion a year in revenue, but who benefits from this multi-billion dollar industry? Spoiler alert! It's not the farmers. This is a story […]
these border collies melt my stoneheart
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOig3k_2rnU] This short documentary out of the UMaine Extension office may appear jut to be another movie about sheep, but don't be fooled; it's actually the most heartwarming dog movie since Homeward Bound! (Or, we should say, at least for agricultural geeks...) Featuring: Doreen and John Simmons, Gwen, and Bea of Stoneheart Farm in South Paris, Maine.
documentary: the hand that feeds
[vimeo 52870881 w=640 h=360] The Hand That Feeds trailer from Robin Blotnick, a film on reforming the food system by organizing from the ground up for fair wages, fair working conditions, and collective bargaining rights. This is a rare story in which workers, with tenacity beyond imagination, are actually able to defeat the giant. It is […]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCMFa60qErQ] Modified is a gorgeous and deeply personal feature-length documentary that delves into the labyrinth of asking why, if they are labelled in 64 other world counties, are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)-- not labeled on food products in Canada and the United States. Film maker Aube Giroux (the mastermind behind Kitchen Vignettes) has entirely self-produced the film […]
the land for our food
The Land for our Food is a documentary movie produced by the Access to Land network and directed by Julio Molina. The video takes us on the journey of Gavin Bridger, a grower from the Community Supported Agriculture project of Farnham Local Food in England, through various European countries in his quest of accessing land […]
documentary: the seeds of vandana shiva
Vandana Shiva is a modern day revolutionary, and for forty years has been fighting a heroic battle on behalf of humanity and the ecologically besieged natural systems that support us. But she is opposed by powerful multinational corporations invested in continuing their toxic though lucrative agricultural practices. By profiling one of the greatest activists of […]
nice film about happiness and local economies
[vimeo 162418809 w=640 h=360] The Economics of Happiness (abridged version) from The Economics of Happiness on Vimeo.
from the ag archives: the harvest of shame
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJTVF_dya7E] On the one hand, it is great to see how far we've come. And on the other, it is pretty difficult to accept how far we haven't. Pay close attention at 19:00 minutes to what one farm employer has to say about working conditions, wages, and his workers dispositions.
multicultural food porn from los angeles
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__2uT1cZWkY] City of Gold Now In Select Theaters
new documentary on wendell berry premiers at SXSW festival
The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, premiered yesterday at SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin. The film spans four seasons; revolving around Berry; his muse of Henry County, Kentucky; and this pivotal contemporary moment in agrarian America. Barbara J. King did a great piece on the film yesterday for NPR, ripe with great Wendell Berry quotes and some contextual food for […]
the future is a long time
The future is a long time and the winners of the Voices of the Soil Contest, hosted by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Lexicon of Food understand the importance of our soil and our future. The eight winners, ages 18-28, were chosen by a panel of soil experts including Joel Salatin, Dr. Elaine Ingham and […]
the uranium industry's dirty (not-so) little secret
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlqhjSMw2nA] How much uranium and radiation are in our groundwater? How much is in the crops that we irrigate with it? "Are the thirty-eight million people in the American Southwest aware that their water supply is filtered through 16 million tons of radioactive waste lying on the banks of the Colorado River?" And who is […]
documented agricultural history from 1935-1944
Get ready to be looking at a lot of very amazing old photos on an interactive map... From 1935-1944, the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information undertook the largest photography project ever sponsored by the federal government. After a series of setbacks in the courts that repealed many of the First New Deal’s program, President […]
small food businesses talk about scale
This 50-minute film by Caroline Paras explores how food enterprises in Portland, ME are scaling in size with an inspiring commitment to the triple bottom line. Good use of a gloomy October weekend.
food fights brought to you by WGBH
Listen to this five part broadcast of stories that paint a picture of both the joys and the challenges faced by the growing number of small suburban and urban farms in New England. Brought to you by WGBH public media. LISTEN HERE!
california matters
Here is an awesome video series on food in California. Topics include: the health of farming families , UC Santa Cruz's farm program, school lunches for food justice, the pollinator project at Full Belly Farm, wage justice in the restaurant industry, monitoring ocean acidification with oysters, the history of Chinese food, and wild edibles as meaningful […]
solution to pollution (or overfishing), is it really aquaculture?
As scientists struggle to count fish, and conservationists attempt to save them, America’s oldest fishing community – Gloucester, Massachusetts is dying. Fishermen are losing their livelihood and even their homes. Last year, NOAA imposed a historic cut to the cod quota — a 78% catch reduction. Then, on Nov. 10, 2014 — the U.S. government […]
farmher, supporting women in agriculture
Iowa photographer Marji Guyler-Alaniz gets it. She just gets it. In her own words, "Too often in our world, the beauty of a woman; of an image, is judged by a face. These are beautiful women, doing beautiful work and my goal is to bring an appreciation to what they do." The photographs in FarmHer, Guyler-Alaniz's long term […]
food chains: new film focuses on the hands that pick the food
Watch the trailer for the new documentary Food Chains! Here's the scoop: "There is more interest in food these days than ever, yet there is very little interest in the hands that pick it. Farmworkers, the foundation of our fresh food industry, are routinely abused and robbed of wages. In extreme cases they can be […]
leviathan: a groundfishing documentary for the senses
Leviathan is a documentary — and yet not a documentary. It's a near-wordless, almost abstract depiction of an 80-foot groundfishing boat heading out of New Bedford, Mass. The film's unusual structure and point of view has gotten rave reviews at festivals and from many critics. Sometimes you don't know quite what you're seeing and listening […]
after i pick the fruit: the lives of migrant women
"After I Pick the Fruit follows the lives of five immigrant farmworker women over a ten-year period as they labor in the apple orchards and fields of rural western New York, migrate seasonally to Florida, raise their families, and try to hide from the Bush-era immigration raids that were conducted in response to 9/11. Filmed in […]
food patriot's new documentary trailer
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7smSleJ8kI] Touched by their teenage son's battle with a foodborne superbug, filmmakers Jeff & Jennifer Spitz document their family's struggle to raise backyard chickens, grow food, and transform into Food Patriots. Food Patriots features people from all walks of life who are trying to change the way Americans eat and buy food, and educate the […]
the last crop
The Last Crop tells a personal tale of a family caught in the middle of a delicate interplay between urban and agricultural space in California’s Central Valley. Annie and Jeff Main own a 20-acre organic farm that serves the Sacramento/San Francisco communities. After 30 years of farming, they are finding it harder to remain viable […]