Sunday, March 19, 1:00-4:00pm
Schedule of Films
Next Stop Chatham
Filmmaker: Glen Wheeler
Run time: 3:29
Produced by The Chatham Area Business Alliance (CABA) This aerial view of Chatham gives a unique perspective of the town, with footage of the surrounding farmland as well as the Crandell Theatre.
How Does It Grow? Potatoes
Filmmakers: Nicole Coltroneo Jolly and Mark Jolly
Run time: 5:48
How Does It Grow? is a food education video series and agricultural literacy program dedicated to reconnecting us to where our food comes from. Potatoes follows America’s favorite vegetable from field to factory, showing how potatoes grow and are turned into chips. Locally, Staron Farm is the largest potato grower in Columbia County. Their potatoes go to Vermont, Massachusetts, New York City, and up and down the Hudson Valley. If you’ve eaten French fries at a county fair, chances are the potatoes were grown at Staron Farm!
Grazin’s Grassfed Burgers: A Small Diner Aims to Make the Cleanest Burger You’ll Ever Eat
Filmmaker: Liza de Guia
Run time: 9:00
Meet Andrew Chiappinelli, the owner of Grazin’, the world’s first farm-to-table direct 100% Animal Welfare Approved grassfed and finished burger joint based in Hudson, New York. When it comes to burgers, Andrew is a proud man. It took him 6 long years to get his vision for Grazin’ up and running, and now he finally feels like people are catching on.
Liza de Guia is the Founder and Chief Storyteller of FOOD CURATED, where she has created 150 mini-documentaries about food since August, 2009. She was honored as 2012 NYC Food Filmmaker of the Year and has been nominated for several other food-related awards, including the James Beard Foundation best video broadcast. Liza’s film Happy Sheep: Raising & Shepherding Good Meat at Kinderhook Farm was screened at Farm Film Fest 7.
The Beekeeper
Filmmaker: Spencer Sarson
Run time: 7:23
Boulder beekeeper Tim Brod discusses the value of high quality honey and the importance of maintaining our relationship with the honeybee. Spencer Sarson, a native of Boulder, now shoots video and photography in the San Francisco Bay area.
How Does It Grow? Hydroponic Spinach
Filmmakers: Nicole Coltroneo Jolly and Mark Jolly
Run time: 5:33
How Does It Grow? is a food education video series and agricultural literacy program dedicated to reconnecting all of us to where our food comes from. Hydroponic Spinach explains how spinach – one of the most nutrient-packed food on the planet – grows even in the dead of winter. Locally, The Berry Farm has extensive hydroponic farming operations, growing a wide range of vegetables year round.
60 Tortillas!
Filmmaker: Gretchen Wall
Run time: 11:00
60 Tortillas! is about learning what it takes to grow enough wheat to make one tortilla every day for a year. Gretchen, whose film 8 Moons Ripe was screened at Farm Film Fest 7, grew wheat in her backyard garden. The film was shot in Columbia County and features local musicians.
Milking Robots
Filmmaker: Golden Mean Media & thatsfarming.com
Run time: 8:09
Dairy farmer Rory Delany discusses his experiences with robotic milking machines and his transition from beef to dairy farming. Rory’s farm is near Ballyhaunis in County Mayo, Ireland. Closer to home, A. Ooms and Sons Dairy Farm has converted their operation to robotic milking. See the system in operation as part of the annual Chatham Farm Tour this fall.
Forgotten Farms
Filmmakers: Dave Simonds and Sarah Gardner
Run time: 63:00
Forgotten Farms give us a glimpse into the past and a vision for a future regional food system. It shows the cultural divide between the new food movement and traditional farming. Through conversations with dairy farmers and policy experts, the film reconsiders the role of the vital but sometimes forgotten farmers who will be essential players in an expanded agricultural economy. Screened at FilmColumbia 2016.
Dave Simonds (director) is an actor, writer and filmmaker. He directed Cherry Cottage: the Story of an American House, which has screened at festivals around the country. He directs Simonds Films, which is a full-service boutique production house. As an actor, Dave has worked extensively in New York, and regionally at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Long Wharf Theatre, and The Portland State Company.
Sarah Gardner (producer) teaches planning and policy at Williams College and is the Associate Director of the Center for Environmental Studies. Her areas of research and teaching include land use, urban planning, local politics, agriculture and food systems, renewable energy and climate change. Sarah is co-chair of the Williamstown Agricultural Commission and a board member of Berkshire Grown.
A Panel Discussion at the Crandell Theatre With Filmmakers and Farmers Following the Farm Film Fest Screening
Peter Paden, Columbia Land Conservancy Executive Director, will moderate a discussion with local farmers, including time for questions and answers.
Panelists include:
- Brian Chittenden: Dutch Hollow Farm in Stuyvesant. With his parents and brothers, Brian has grown the farm’s registered Jersey herd from 55 cows to 600 cows, making it the second largest registered Jersey herd in the state. The Farm was honored with the AJCA’s most prestigious honor – the Master Breeder Award – in 2012. The farm is the second generation to receive the award as Paul’s father, Stanley, earned the distinction in 1983. The Chittendens also received the National Dairy Shrine’s Distinguished Cattle Breeder Award in 2014.
- Sarah Gardner: Associate Director of the Williams College Center for Environmental Studies and producer of Forgotten Farms. Sarah is co-chair of the Williamstown Agricultural Commission and a board member of Berkshire Grown.
- Eileen Wallding: Whistle Down Farm in Claverack. Eileen, with her husband, Nicholas Pandjiris, owns and operates a 60 acre organic vegetable and berry farm that provides food to the Hudson Farmers Market, various local restaurants, and five food pantries in New York City. Eileen and Nicholas have been farming together since 2006, and they started their own farm business in 2009.
- Will Yandik: Green Acres Farm in Livingston. Will is a fourth generation farmer, working land that his great-grandfather purchased. Green Acres Farm has been owned and operated continuously by the Yandik family since 1915. The 195 acre diversified farm produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Green Acres Farm, which includes a bakery and farm stand, offers only local produce, either grown on their own farm or by their farming neighbors within 10 miles of Hudson.