The growing revolution - Reclaiming control of the food we eat

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Documentary Film Description

Background
In an era of climate change, peak oil and corporate control of the world’s food resources, Canadians are increasingly aware of the many threats to their own food security and they are hungry for alternatives. Rural and urban communities alike are exploring new strategies for reclaiming control over local food systems.  From initiatives in support of small farmers, to the creation of land trusts and cooperative ventures, to countless urban agriculture and permaculture projects, there is much fertile ground for change.

Canadians can draw inspiration from the people of Cuba who have undertaken a massive transformation of their own agricultural system in the past two decades. Faced with serious food shortages following the collapse of the Eastern block and the end of food, fossil fuel and agro-chemical in-puts, the Cubans underwent what many analysts refer to as “the world’s first post-fossil fuel local food revolution.”  Focusing on the promotion of organic practices, the conversion of huge state farms into smaller cooperatives, and the development of a countrywide program of urban agriculture, Cuba has created a model that the rest of the world can learn from.

The Project
THE GROWING REVOLUTION: RECLAIMING CONTROL OF THE FOOD WE EAT will document the shared quest for food security undertaken by Canadians and Cubans alike.  The film will draw out the stories and the voices of individual and community efforts towards local food production in Cuba and in Canada (Powell River area) and will highlight the valuable lessons we can learn from each other and the importance of international solidarity in the quest for a sustainable future.  While confronting serious issues, the film treatment will be visually rich, sensual, and fun; inspiring a strong sense of the possibilities communities can undertake to reclaim control of the food they eat.

 

The Team

Award winning filmmaker Jeremy Williams (www.jeremywilliams.ca) 

and Ron Berezan, The Urban Farmer (www.theurbanfarmer.ca)

are co-producers of this project. Jeremy Williams, film director, has produced over 50 short documentary films on a range of social and environmental issues which has been broadcast on CNN, CBC, Vision TV, and at numerous film festivals. Ron Berezan is a permaculture teacher and practioner and a promoter of urban agriculture throughout Canada.  He has taken several groups to Cuba to witness firsthand the on-going eco-agricultural revolution in that country.  Joining Ron and Jeremy in this venture is Doug Brown, a Powell River resident intensively farming one acre of land in the city. Doug will provide the narrative continuity between the filming in Cuba and in Canada.

Phase I

The initial phase of this project took place in Cuba from February 21 to March 7, 2011. In cooperation with the two week Organic Cuba 2011 tour run by The Urban Farmer, Jeremy and Ron collected over 20 hours of high quality interviews and footage featuring some of Cuba’s most visionary farmers, permaculturalists, urban growers, researchers, and agro-ecological thinkers. We were also able to document the responses of Canadian farmers, gardeners, permaculture practioners and food security advocates as they came face to face with their Cuban counterparts.  Doug Brown was able to reflect on camera as he considered his own quest for food self-sufficiency in light of the inspiring and compelling Cuban examples he encountered.

Phase II

The filming has now begun in the Powell River area. Over the months of June to September, we will be interviewing local farmers, urban growers, Transition Town representatives, food security advocates and we will document some of the many exciting local food initiatives that are happening in the region. This phase of the project will examine both the challenges and the positive steps underway locally in creating a more resilient food system.  Is Powell River prepared for the kind of food crisis that Cuba faced? What would happen if the ferries stopped bringing in massive shipments of food to the region? Could Powell River feed itself? What lessons from Cuba can we draw on in shaping our own food future?

 

Getting It Done …

Thanks to the generous contributions of many Canadian individuals and organizations, ($6540.00 raised to date!), we were able to travel to Cuba and document intimately the amazing food revolution occurring in that country. Now we are continuing the work on a shoe-string budget to complete the second phase of the project here in Canada.

In order to produce a high quality, broadcast ready documentary, we will need to invest a tremendous amount of editing time and expertise into the project. Film editing is scheduled to occur from October, 2011 to April, 2012.  As we have been invited to premier the film at the International Organic and Sustainable Agriculture conference to be held in La Habana in May of 2012, we are working towards a completion date of April, 2012 for the film.

 

We would like to invite you to make a monetary contribution towards this exciting project.

All contributors will be recognized in the credits of the film and will be kept up to date as the film progresses. Donations should be made out to The Urban Farmer and sent to 6370 Oak Street, Powell River BC V8A 4L9. Receipts will be provided for all contributions. Payment can also be made on-line through Paypal to theurbanfarmer@shaw.ca.

We are also currently exploring institutional partnerships for this project. If your organization would like to participate, please let us know. We would be happy to discuss a range of options with you.

 

For more information, please contact:

Jeremy Williams, 604 487 0357
jeremywilliams@yahoo.ca,  www.jeremywilliams.ca

Ron Berezan, 604 483 9811 / 604 223 4800
theurbanfarmer@shaw.ca, www.theurbanfarmer.ca
6370 Oak Street, Powell River, BC V8A 4L9

Visit the project website: www.thegrowingrevolution.ca