Food and Farming Film Festival in Durham

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association as part of its annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference, November 4-6 in Durham will be featuring a selection of films on Friday night, November 4 at 8:30. The conference and films will be at the Durham Marriott at the Civic Center. For more information about the conference itself, go to www.carolinafarmstewardship.org.

Details about the films below:

FOOD AND FARMING FILM FESTIVAL

SPONSORED BY THE CAROLINA FARM STEWARDSHIP ASSOCIATION
& TRIANGLE SLOW FOOD GROUP

WHEN: Friday, November 4th, starting at 8:30 pm

WHERE: Durham Civic Center Marriot Hotel, next to the Carolina Theatre, rooms 105-108

WHY: CFSA is holding their 2005 annual meeting in Durham, November 4-6, and small-scale sustainable farmers from throughout North and South Carolina will attend. Slow Food is looking for ways to work with existing groups in our area to support sustainable farms and good food.

WHAT: Three longer films will be screened along with several shorts. The three main films (all documentaries) will be shown simultaneously in three different rooms. Discussions will follow the screening for those who are interested.

COST: Free for registered attendees of the Sustainable Agriculture Conference, donation of $10 to Carolina Farm Stewardship Assoc. for others.

FEATURE FILMS AND SHORTS ARE DESCRIBED BELOW

The Future of Food (88 minutes)
Directed, Produced, and Written by Deborah Koons Garcia

The Future of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade. This film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have suffered the consequences of this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed about the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply. Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, The Future of Food, examines the web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today. http://www.thefutureoffood.com/

* * *
Voices of American Farm Women (40 minutes)
Directed by Cynthia Vagnetti
& The True Cost of Food-animated short (15 minutes)

Voices of American Farm Women is based upon more than 40 videotaped oral history interviews done by photojournalist and videographer Cynthia Vagnetti. In the past, our views of farming and its influence on American life and culture have focused on the roles that men have played as farmers, while women's contributions to agricultural production were largely ignored, perpetuating the stereotype of the "farmer's wife." This film presents a contemporary perspective on women in agriculture. Cynthia Vagnetti has documented women from across the United States whose farming techniques promote environmental responsibility, economic stability, and community well being. Through their voices and presence, the women express the components of sustainable food systems and farming practices.

Cynthia Vagnetti is an independent documentary photographer and video producer. She specializes in collecting comprehensive oral histories of farmers and ranchers across America

* * *
Broken Limbs (57 minutes)
Produced by Jamie Howell and Guy Evans
& The Meatrix-animated short (4 minutes)

Wenatchee, Washington, the "Apple Capital of the World", prospered for nearly a century as home to the famed Washington apple. But the good times have vanished. Apple orchardists by the thousands are going out of business and many more await the dreaded letter from the bank, announcing the end of their livelihoods and a uniquely American way of life.

After his own father receives just such a letter, filmmaker Guy Evans sets out on a journey to find out what went wrong. Over the course of filming, Evans witnesses small farmers struggling to compete against the Goliaths that populate today's global food industry, only to be ultimately forced off their land. The future looks grim for the Apple Capital although Evans does discover a new breed of successful small farmers, practitioners of a model called "sustainable agriculture".

Broken Limbs explores these hopeful stirrings within agriculture, outlining ways in which any individual can play a role in saving America's farmers. http://www.brokenlimbs.org/

******************************************
Elizabeth Gibbs
Educational Programs Coordinator
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
P.O. Box 448
Pittsboro, NC 27312
Phone 919.542.2402
Fax 919.542.7401
www.carolinafarmstewards.org