Eagle Times Staff
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. — What would a food system that supports both people and the planet look like? The Farm-to-Film Festival hopes to find answers to this question.
In addition to both short and feature films that explore regenerative agriculture and the indigenous practices it’s rooted in, the one-day festival will feature fresh, sustainably grown food, hands-on activities for all ages, live music and dancing, thoughtful discussion and more. The free or sliding scale festival will take place on October 21, at JAM — Junction Arts & Media — and The Briggs Opera House, located at 5 S. Main Street, White River Junction, Vt.
Regenerative agriculture strives to work with nature, rather than against it, to reverse soil degradation and to protect climate resources and biodiversity while enhancing farms’ productivity. For hundreds of years, Indigenous populations protected local ecosystems through the land management and farming practices that the regenerative agriculture movement aims to re-establish. The Farm-to-Film festival is an expansion of Vital Communities’ Climate Farmer Stories Project, which features portraits of and interviews with 25 regenerative farmers in the Upper Valley who are using their farms to draw down carbon, cool the climate, and build food security and community resilience. The Climate Farmer Stories Project will be on display at JAM during the festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, Oct. 9 to 24.
The festival kicks off at 9 a.m. with an “Get Your Hands Dirty” family pop-up where attendees are invited to learn about soil health, plant a seed, and create their own take-home time lapse photography set up to record it growing. Events throughout the day are designed to be fun and build community, including “Local Lunch” with Moon & Stars arepas, a meet-and-greet with the Climate Farmers and complimentary baked goods from King Arthur Baking Company, and a community square dance called by Nils Fredland with live music by Beecharmer.
Starting at 3 p.m., attendees can watch five short documentaries that focus on food equity and regenerative practices in the Upper Valley and beyond. Headlining the festival is Tribeca Film Festival 2023 “Human/Nature” Award winner Common Ground, directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell and featuring narration by Laura Dern, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Rosario Dawson and others. Common Ground is the story of the pioneers of the regenerative movement who are forgoing the seeds and sprays created by Big Ag in order to produce nutritionally dense food.
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