On October 12 an innovative and important short film series was launched. This project is about sustainable farming across Canada – as told through the eyes of 40 farmers. And it is a documentary project that has me taking a trip down memory lane…
In the early 1980s, I hitched a small trailer to my compact car and drove down kilometres of prairie backroads across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, from east to west and south to north.
That trek took several months of planning, lots of networking, and the ability to manage on a very tight budget. The resulting book, published in 1985 and titled Prairie Lives: The Changing Face of Farming, showcased the opinions, challenges, and farm operations of more than 100 family farms and included as many black & white photos. It was a challenging documentary project that took close to four months of in-field research and several more months to write and edit, and hours and hours developing negatives and prints. And of course – then came the printing of the book.
It was a huge project. But that book had what has since been called in marketing terminology, ‘a long tail’… meaning that it had a long shelf life despite being a ‘niche’ book publication. Indeed — even 40 years on, Prairie Lives can be found on the bookshelves of some public libraries, among them those in Regina and Calgary. Though Prairie Lives is no longer available from BTL publishers, you can still find copies online, or at used and vintage book stores. Is it a good thing that the subject matter is still of interest? Perhaps… I think it also means that there are recurring themes and many issues related to the family farm still unresolved.
October 12 is National Farmers Day, so a fitting launch date for this fresh documentary series, Depth of Field: Films About Farming, produced by March Forth Creative, the filmakers on retainer with the National Farmers Union (NFU).
An NFU media release described the project:
“In spring 2023, the filmmakers began traveling and filming on location, and will complete the films by 2024. Depth of Field will connect Canadians with a diversity of farmers who are playing a key role in the solution to the climate crisis, highlighting their sustainable initiatives. Depth of Field will give Canadians an opportunity to learn about agriculture in Canada from the farmers, farm workers, producers and land stewards themselves. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is providing the NFU with up to $253,726 in funding for this project through the AgriCommunication Program.”
So, for the past several months, a small film crew has been in the field, documenting the operations and opinions of these sustainable farmers. As part of the project launch on October 12, organizers released a list of the 40 farms involved in Depth of Field. The farms are located across Canada – from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia to Québec and Ontario, and on to the three prairie provinces and into British Columbia. Each farm is summarized briefly, and the actual films will be launched by community over the next several months.
This project is accessible and based on short films of 6-12 minutes each. Like Prairie Lives, the format provides brief summaries of issues, through the eyes of farmers. Viewers with limited time can view by short takes. In these short films the main issue is sustainability. While Prairie Lives identified issues such as farm size, land concentration and loss of family farms and included, co-operative farms, corporate farms, organic farms, alongside interviews with farmworkers, and farm women, Depth of Field updates the content, focusing on sustainable practices on farms with just a few acres to those of several sections (one section equals 640 acres). In Depth of Field, the farmers are also concentrated in central and eastern Canada, and not so much on the prairies, though there are farmers interviewed in each province.
Since the publication of Prairie Lives in 1985, agricultural issues have evolved. For one, organic farming is no longer seen as a rarity, or as odd or impossible, among farmers or consumers; as well, Depth of Field highlights a new generation of young small farmers who are trying to make a go of it on smaller parcels of land; and there appears to be more partnership, support, and grants available to tell this kind of story. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada provided funding through its AgriCommunication Program. All of these points are positive.
As well – our digital powers have greatly expanded since the ‘80s. Anyone can host a screening of these short films on request – either virtually or in-person. To encourage wider community engagement the project website includes a Resource Hub. The Resource Hub also includes a step by step FAQ with pointers on how screenings might be organized as well as other key information.
Most of these Canadian farmers and farmworkers are members of the NFU, and work to apply sustainable farm practices on their operations. Rotational grazing, seed saving, building healthy soils on small plots of land through to larger prairie organic operations — each of the short film documentaries contributes to building a narrative about community-oriented and sustainable agriculture.
“We hope to reach millions of Canadian food consumers to let them know that, to have a thriving food system that reduces emissions and uplifts local farming, they need to support it. One way is to buy from local farmers–like the ones featured in Depth of Field.” says Nasseem Hakimian, the NFU Project Manager.
You can view a trailer of the project here.
And stay tuned for the soft launches of each short film over the coming months. Maybe even consider hosting a screening in your neighbourhood. The NFU will share the films online and via local screenings in collaboration with other farm organizations during the fall and winter of 2023-2024.
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
