[Scpg] "The Real Dirt on Farmer John" Film in SB Dec 5 7pm

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

FROM THE SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT, SANTA BARBARA

An announcement from HopeDance Films of Santa Barbara
______________________________________________________
a one-time only premiere screening of

"The Real Dirt on Farmer John" FiLM,
with a lively discussion afterwards.

Monday, December 5, 7pm
at the Faulkner Gallery in the Santa Barbara Library
(40 E. Anapamu)
Suggested donation of $6

Permission arranged exclusively with Gaiam, Inc. and HopeDance FiLMS.

COSPONSORS Include: SBarbara Permaculture Guild, The Center for Urban
Agriculture at
Fairview Gardens, For The Future, Edible Gardens Organic Seed Company
(SBarbara), the Sustainability Project of SBarbara, Carrie Filler and
Rick Keller,
Community Food System Project of SLO County, Terra Foundation,
SLO-GE-Free, Cal
Poly Organic Farm Community Supported Agriculture...

All farmers who farm more than 10 acres are admitted in for FREE!!

The Real Dirt on Farmer John (US, 2005, 82 min.)
Directed by Taggart Siegel and produced by Teri Lang
(http://www.therealdirt.net)

The Real Dirt on Farmer John is the epic tale of a maverick Mid-western
farmer. An outcast in his community, Farmer John transforms his world
amidst a
failing economy, vicious rumors, and violence. By melding the traditions
of family
farming with the power of art and free expression, this quintessentially

American story heralds a resurrection of farming in America.

Through highly personal interviews and 50 years of beautifully textured
footage, filmmaker Taggart Siegel shares Farmer John's haunting and
humorous
odyssey, capturing what it means to be wildly different - a fiercely
individual
artist in a suspicious rural community.

Vincent M. Smith will answer questions after the film. He currently
manages
Fairview Gardens educational programs and serves as a liason between the
public
and the farm. Vincent has an extensive background in education, plant
science, and farming. He resides on the farm in the historic 1895
farmhouse with his
family and plays a role in many aspects of farm operations.

REVIEWS:

"Unbelievably special... told with insight and humor." - Al Gore

"I love this film and have found myself talking about it almost daily
since I
saw it. Farmer John is a compelling and complex character whose story
will
open your heart, break it, and then fill it with a redemptive vision.
Along the
way, you'll get an education about the joys and curses of farm life and
the
issues farmers are grappling with." - Nina Utne, Utne Magazine

"The Real Dirt changed my life. I really felt like giving up as a
farmer,
until I saw the movie..."  - Michelle Lutz, Maple Creek Farm

"The film evolves into a deeply moving metaphor for the struggles of an
entire generation. His triumphant story is essential for all of us city
folk who
have found ourselves despairing for the Earth and what has seemed like
our
inevitable alienation from it." - Mark Achbar, director, The Corporation

AWARDS: Golden Gate Award for the Bay Area Documentary at the San
Francisco
International Film Festival.

Jury Prize for the Best Documentary and the Audience Award at the
Inspiration
Film Festival (Santa Monica)

Special Documentary Award at the Nashville Film Festival

Feature Audience Award at the Chicago International Documentary Film
Festival

Feature Audience Award at the Wisconsin International Film Festival

Audience Choice Award for the Best Documentary at the Slamdance Film
Festival