The Sun also Rises

I stole the title of this post from the title of an Ernest Hemingway novel, which I also stole from my friend Andrew Samtoy (come to think of it, he might have actually given me the book, he's very generous). He told me the book reminded him of the lingering hangover you might feel in late autumn after a summer of drinking, parties and celebration.

It is now Spring, I-80 is in bloom from here to New York, I just bought tomato and jalapeno plants to add to LESS Productions' window garden but I must admit that much this month I have felt this lingering hangover after PolyCultures' showing at the Cleveland Film Festival. & like any good period of withdraw, the past couple weeks have been fairly introspective - until now...

While Dave and I have been steadily working to define exactly how we are going to distribute and license for PolyCultures, today I woke up ready to do everything at once - a good feeling, though usually attributable to high-octane coffee. Though I love a cup of jo, I think this inspiration is more the result of finally understanding the energy other people are getting from seeing the movie.

People I know from all kinds of different backgrounds have been approaching me to find out how they can show this movie to others. My cousins Sev in Warren, my friend Sade from Ohio City, not to mention all community members I've just recently met involved with libraries, schools and a bunch of nonprofits who are all like: so, how can we show this thing?

We'll have an answer for that (probably) in the next week or two. But in the meantime, I wanted to say thank you to everybody who is currently working to help get PolyCultures in front of people who could benefit by seeing it. The movie certainly has a certain appeal to those who are already interested in sustainability, food and how people in our region can build a healthier food system, but in order for it to reach the individuals who are not advocates of this philosophy (many of the people it would certainly benefit most) it is going to take a lot of direct, interpersonal communication.

Though the festival may have left the lingering delusion of a mass media firestorm of PolyCultures' spreading through every community in the US, it has been a sobering wake up call to see people who are ready to really work to get it out for the simple reason that others should see it. It's a refreshing sobriety, feet on solid ground.

--oh, by the way, check out Dave DeOreo's Applause piece from Oberlin during Michael Pollan's visit. You might spot some PolyCultures footage in there.