Film festival highlights sustainable food and farming

WILLIAMSTOWN – As spring comes around the corner and local farms and gardeners begin to plant this year’s crop, a local film festival will highlight local food.

Williams College’s Sustainable Food and Agricultural Program and Images Cinema will present four features as a part of Fresh Fest, a food- and farm-themed film festival, on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10 at Images Cinema.

The first film, Growing Hope Against Hunger, will be screened at 10:30 a.m. on March 9.

Starring Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and characters from Sesame Street, Growing Hope Against Hunger speaks to both children and adults on the importance of community.

In this special episode of Sesame Street, the show’s main puppet characters meet a new friend, Lily, whose family has an ongoing struggle with hunger.

They come to understand their simple actions can make a world of difference. The documentary stories that follow present children’s perspectives on food insecurity and illuminate the impact hunger has on families. Ali Benjamin, who served as researcher, casting director and story consultant for the documentary portion, will be the guest speaker.

The second movie, Edible City, will be presented at 1 p.m. on March 9.

Edible City documents a broad spectrum of activists, organizations and inspired citizens who challenge the paradigm of the current food system.

The movie digs deep into their unique perspectives and transformative work – from edible education to grassroots activism to building local economies – and shows how everyone can get involved in transforming the food system.

Aleisha and Brian Gibbons of Berkshire Organics SEEDS will be the guest speakers. Wild Oats soup will also be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The third film, More Than Honey, will be featured at 4:30 p.m. on March 9.

It deals with an unexplained global phenomenon: the death of millions of honeybee colonies.

While a complete understanding of its causes are yet to be determined, it is clear the problem is much larger than a few dead insects, and there is more at stake than just a bit of honey.

Searching for answers, the film features a wide array of people living with and relying on honeybees, including almond growers in California, pollen dealers in China and a neuroscientist investigating bee brains in Berlin.

More Than Honey offers fascinating insight into the beehive as well as our relationship with nature. Tony Pisano and Alethea Morrison of the Northern Berkshire Beekeepers Association will be the guest speakers. The movie is in German with subtitles in English.

The final film, A Home Movie: Rhodes Family Documentary, will be shown at 4 p.m. on March 10.

A Home Movie is a documentary by local filmmaker Better Craig on Williamstown farm history as told by the Rhodes family of South Williamstown.

Ms. Craig and her husband, Charles Portz, have owned the Rhodes family farmhouse since 1979. Many of the Rhodes family still lives on part of what had been a 300-acre dairy farm.

She interviewed many family members, including Lillian Rhodes, who married Robert Rhodes in 1921 and lived in the farmhouse until 1972. Robert’s parents bought the farm in 1875.

The guest speaker will be filmmaker Better Craig. A reception featuring Cricket Creek artisanal cheese and bread by Philippe Besnard will follow.

Posted by Kameron Z. Spaulding on February 28, 2013. Filed under Community Events,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry