Last night, I saw The Real Dirt on Farmer John at the Kabuki Theater as a part of the San Francisco Film Festival. John Peterson has a CSA farm about two hours out of Chicago in rural Illinois, and this is a documentary about his life, the life of his family farm, and the trials and tribulations that go along with farming. The director, Taggart Siegel, has known Farmer John for about 25 years and has filmed many important parts of the life of the farm - including days in the late seventies when the farm was host to many artist friends in a commune-type atmosphere. The many different phases of Farmer John's life that were captured on film were remarkable and really added to the story.
The entire film was wonderful, but the last portion of the film, focusing on the farm's transition to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model was really worth the price of admission. As an added bonus, both Farmer John and Taggert Siegel were present to answer questions - and questions we asked. I would estimate they spoke for about 45 minutes after the film.
If you have the ability to see the film during the day, it is going to be shown tomorrow at the Kabuki at 1.00 pm -- see the SFFS site for more information. Peterson and Siegel will be in attendance and discussing the film afterward.
If you don't live in the Bay Area, click here to see screenings nationwide. It is also screening in NYC on Wednesday. If you need details on that, email me and I will try and find them.
