Spreading the seeds further...

If you haven't seen it before - and especially if you have - I encourage you to sit back and enjoy this movie trailer / music video put together by PolyCultures director Tom Kondilas.  It's an achingly good song, and from the images and lyrics a distinct narrative arc emerges:

PolyCultures has spread the message of the "seamless web of sustainability" further than we could have predicted:

• Premiered at the 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival to a hometown crowd of 1000
• Official Selection of the largest environmental film fest, Wild & Scenic 
• Featured in the first film festival at the Community Food Security Coalition's renowned food justice conference
• Screened in over a dozen states/countries (see the 2009 and 2010 lists to the right)
• Aired by Cleveland PBS affiliate WVIZ along with the national premiere of Food Inc. to commemorate Earth Day 2010

It's been viewed by over 10,000 - many of whom were inspired to do a little more (or a lot more!) to create an all-around healthier food system.

I think it's easy enough to see why when you watch this trailer highlighting the "problem > solution > action" theme of PolyCultures:

By the way, the music at the start there is gritty on purpose, just like we intentionally left in the endearing intro to the Harold Hartzler section everyone seems to love best:

A lot of people who support that kind of sustainably-produced food have the means to do so and an increasing number of options available.  But how many people in poverty-stricken areas with limited food access could use to see the poignant message that in many locations the food system may be convenient but is actually pretty messed up... and to also see efforts happening around them that could soon be reversing that trend...

How many college libraries out there could put a couple copies of the DVD in circulation, giving many different types of courses an engaging teaching aid...?  How many public libraries could lend a copy to community members who might be inspired to join a garden or host a CSA program...?

We want more people who see these clips or have caught a public screening to get a home-use copy and later lend it to friends... or maybe even think about setting up their own public screening.

Here are some ideas on how you might screen it.  Since writing that last July it's been on PBS, sold a number of public-use copies, been reviewed in the Ethicurean, and been screened over a dozen times across the country.

But forget the accolades - what could be more compelling than watching the first few minutes for free and deciding if you want to see the rest...?

Two Big PolyCultures Screenings This Spring

After a long and somewhat trying winter, it seems PolyCultures is back on the scene.  

Wednesday April 21 at 8p PolyCultures is slated to play before Food Inc. on WVIZ PBS Cleveland!  Though some clips of the movie have been seen on television before this will be the official broadcast premiere of the latest 54-minute version of the movie (it's probably the best version:)!  

Here's WVIZ's link for that.

You can also hear Maurice Small on 90.3's Around Noon Tuesday April 20th, check this link for that.

Michael Carissimi and Tom Kondilas also worked on a new 30 second promo that will be aired on PBS for the week preceding the show.

Whole Foods is also sponsoring a theatrical screening as part of its Let's Retake Our Plates Film Series.  The 54-minute cut will play on April 30 at about ~7:00p for FREE at Lakewood Public Library - 15425 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, OH.  Here's a Plain Dealer article about the series written by Kaye Spector.

Sprouting Through the Snow: A Batch of Mid-Winter Screenings

I recently experienced an absolutely fantastic festival: Wild & Scenic. It takes place each year in the former gold mining town of Nevada City, California - and it's become the largest environmental film fest in the US. So I had the chance to see over a dozen feature-length and short films about topics ranging from the pending world-wide shortage of fresh water, climbing stunning peaks in Namibia, and mushrooms.

I also had the opportunity to present PolyCultures in two historic venues...



...and give an interview that was streamed live and can be watched in its entirety here - about the movie and, more importantly, the movement in Northeast Ohio to provide impoverished neighborhoods with better food choices.

And all of this took place amid friendly folks strolling through the town from one venue to another, stopping here and there at unique restaurants and quaint gift shops. Doesn't get much better than Wild & Scenic!

While out in California, we received word that PolyCultures is an Official Selection of the Phangan Film Festival being held this February in Thailand. We're also part of the Frozen River Film Festival up in Minnesota, playing next weekend. On top of that, PolyCultures will be part of Case Western Reserve University Film Society's 6th Annual Local Filmmaker’s Night on Saturday, February 6th - great to be doing more with Tom's and my alma mater.

So, while we semi-hibernate on the distribution this winter, it's great to see that there's still interest in the documentary near and far. We have some big plans in the works for a spring-time relaunch... to coincide with the new growing season, of course.