(74 min.)

Peg Leg Films

Filmmakers: Grant Baldwin and Jenny Rustmeyer

We all love food, so how could we possibly be throwing away nearly half of it? Filmmakers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of waste from farm and retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge. After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping cold turkey and survive only on foods that would otherwise be thrown away. In a nation where one in 10 people is food insecure, the images they capture of squandered groceries are both shocking and strangely compelling. As Grant’s addictive personality turns full tilt towards food rescue, the ‘thrill of the find’ has unexpected consequences.Just Eat It looks at our obsession with “best before” dates, perfect produce and portion sizes, and reveals the core of this  issue that is having devastating consequences around the globe. Just Eat It is equal parts education and delicious entertainment.

Impact Award,Vancouver Int’l Film Festival; Emerging Director Award, Hot Docs; People’s Choice, Calgary Int’l Film Festival

(88 min.)

Director: M Sean Kaminsky

One of the world’s most precious resources is at risk. Seeds are essential to life, providing the basis for everything from fabric to food to fuels. Approximately 90 percent of the fruit and vegetable varieties that existed 100 years ago no longer exist today. Corporations are co-opting seed genetics using patent laws. Today, corporate-owned seed accounts for 82% of the world-wide market.  Many heritage grains are near extinction. Seeds that were lovingly nurtured over hundreds of years have been lost forever. Maintaining seed biodiversity allows us to breed new varieties that are resistant to pests and thrive in temperature extremes in a changing climate. Open Sesame follows the challenges and triumphs of seed activists as they work to save this precious resource.

(50 min. 2011)

McNabb/ Connolly

A film by Anthony-Masterson

Currently, the average age of farmers in North America is over 55, so it’s critical to encourage more young people to take up the plow. GROW! profiles a new crop of idealistic young farmers who have turned to the fields for a more fulfilling life, driven by a strong desire to grow and distribute food locally and in a more sustainable manner. To start farming, they often must borrow, rent or manage farmland in order to fulfill their dreams. Some begin as apprentices, working with experienced farmers to learn the basics before venturing out on their own. These new farmers speak of both the joys and the challenges involved in tending the land. The film provides inspiration to all viewers to support this new crop of sustainable farmers through the food choices we make every day. Best American Documentary, Rome International Film Festival ; Best Feature, Colorado Environmental Film Festival

(87 min. 2012)

Micha X. Peled

In the years since the World Trade Organization forced India to open its markets to genetically modified seeds such as Monsanto’s BT Cotton, farmers have been forced into untenable debt in order to buy the more
expensive seeds and the fertilizers and pesticides required to make them grow. Every 30 minutes a farmer in India kills himself in despair because he can no longer provide for his family. Will Ramkrishna be next? A cotton farmer at the epicenter of the suicide crisis region, he is struggling to keep his land. Manjusha, the neighbours’ daughter, is determined to overcome village traditions and become a journalist. Ramkrishna’s plight becomes her first assignment. A deeply affecting, character-driven film, Bitter Seeds masterfully weaves a rich tapestry of compelling human stories and subplots, that allows you to enter a world that is both personal and profound. Oxfam Global Justice Award & Winner Green Screen competition at IDFA; Jury Award, Green

(72 min. 2012)

Shelley Lee Davies & Or Shlomi

Why has the death rate from heart disease and cancer exploded in recent times? Why are the ice caps melting, the oceans dying and the forests being cut down as we produce the food necessary to support our
burgeoning populations? Against a backdrop of colourful and delicious food grown by organic farmers and prepared in the kitchens of world-famous chefs, Planeat brings together the ground-breaking studies of three prominent scientists who have done important research to answer these questions. Dr. T. Colin Campbell in China explores the link
between diet and disease; Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn uses nutrition to treat chronically ill heart disease patients; and Professor Gidon Eshel investigates how our food choices contribute to global warming, wasteful land use and lifeless oceans. Planeat inspires you to make better food choices: choices that can dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, protect our environment and make our planet sustainable while celebrating the joys of food.

(104 min. 2012)

Deborah Koons Garcia

Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance, soil. By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil,
water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource. The film also examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in
agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental issues of our time. Filmed on four continents, featuring esteemed scientists and working farmers and ranchers, Symphony of the Soil is an intriguing presentation that highlights possibilities of healthy soil creating healthy plants creating healthy humans living on a healthy planet.

Beautiful cinematography and musical score.

(72 min. 2012)

Andrew Hasse and Carl Grether

Edible City is a film that tells the stories of extraordinary people who are digging their hands into the dirt, working to transform their communities and doing something truly revolutionary–growing local systems that are socially just, environmentally sound, and economically resilient. Can people disengage from the destruction taking place on planet earth and engage in something that helps to heal the earth and sets us free from the corporate systems that do us more harm than good? Local food production may be the answer to many of the challenges we face today. The film looks at examples of creative community based food security projects, including exciting work in many American inner city neighbourhoods as well as in Cuba.

(57 min. 2008)  no. 552

Mark Dworkin & Melissa Young

Something remarkable is happening in the fields and orchards of the Pacific Northwest. After leaving the land for decades, family farmers are making a comeback. They are growing much healthier food, and more food per acre, while using less energy and water than factory farms. And most of this food is organic. For decades Northwest agriculture was focused on a few big crops for export. But climate change and the end of cheap energy mean that each region needs to produce more of its own food and to grow it more sustainably. Good Food visits farmers, farmers’ markets, distributors, stores, restaurants and public officials who are developing a more sustainable food system for all.

(49 min. 2009)   no. 538

Rebecca Hosking

Wildlife camerawoman Rebecca Hosking returns to her childhood home to take on the family farm. The Hosking farm is not a normal farm – it is a haven of biodiversity, with majestic oak trees full of birds, water
meadows and hayfields heaving with wild flowers. We follow Rebecca as she investigates different ways to run a productive farm without using fossil fuels and in doing so, the film reveals a fascinating glimpse into positive alternatives such as permaculture for the future of farming. Beautifully filmed.

(70 min. 2008)  no. 526

Director: Nick Versteeg Co-Producers: Don Genova & Jason

Food security is an issue that affects everyone. This film looks at the history of food production on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and what would happen to our food supply if the islands were suddenly cut off from the rest of the world. It also chronicles the efforts of several crusaders who grow crops, raise animals and craft artisan food products in the face of growing competition from imports and rising costs. These visionaries imagine a world in which eating and growing food is accessible to all and is part of a healthy community, economy and planet. Finally, the film shows why people need to get involved with supporting the local food movement. The film’s producers and Minister of Agriculture Stan Hagen are featured in the film.

(56 min. 2007) no. 467

Barbara Sumner Burstyn

‘The outcome of the battle for agricultural control in India may just dictate the future of the earth.’ 78 year old Peter Proctor is quietly determined to save the world. Peter is known as the father of modern biodynamic farming, a form of organic agriculture. Biodynamic agriculture is changing the landscape, releasing entire communities from the debt cycles and destroyed lands of chemical farming and the bio colonialism of multinational corporations. One Man, One Cow, One Planet reveals the hidden battle of marginal farmers to own seeds, to grow diverse crops, to feed themselves and their communities.

(88 min. 2007) no. 477

Aaron Woolf, Curt Ellis, Ian Cheney

King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food industry. In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the US heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbours, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat—and how we farm. Entertaining and enlightening

(70 min. 2009) no. 580

Director: Ana Sofia Joanes

Fresh is a fresh look at the problems and consequences of our current industrialized food system, something that affects us all. But more than just a critique of the ills that accompany mass production on the farm and mass marketing in the food chain, Fresh focuses on the farmers, thinkers, and business people who are re-inventing food production. Visionaries such as Will Allen and Joel Salatin are creating new approaches that address environmental, health, and economic challenges throughout the food chain. Fresh illustrates how farmers are eschewing artificial inputs like chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, and pesticides to grow healthier livestock and produce for consumers, and, at the same time, creating a better way of life for everyone.