ASPARAGUS! a stalk-u-mentary

Last week, we were fortunate enough to attend a workshop put on by Arts Engine, organizers of the Media That Matters Film Festival (where The Meatrix won in the Film For Thought category in 2004). Non-profits, educators, and filmmakers were brought together to brainstorm how we can all utilize each others’ skills and know-how to tackle the issues of today. We all realized that what we need most is a source for information on what other organizations, educators and filmmakers are doing – what projects are in the works and how we can join with them ahead of time to create an organized campaign around the issue.

We saw some great short films on all sorts of pressing issues of today, made by some amazing young filmmakers (some still in high school) as well as more seasoned artists. We were thrilled to see a short film about small farmers called ASPARAGUS! A Stalk-umentary. The short is part of a larger, 72-minute film about Oceana County, Michigan, where asparagus was king until the war on drugs and the Free Trade Agreement brought in cheap asparagus from Mexico. A fight for the identity and economic survival of this community ensued, raising questions about how foreign policy can affect America’s rural communities.

With so many films about food and farming hitting the mainstream (Fast Food Nation, The Real Dirt on Farmer John) the message about our food supply seems to be gaining traction.