Wheat Cycle(1975)

Of the Land(en)

Within the last half century, our agriculture and food has changed more than it has changed before in several thousand years. New technologies and scientific ingenuity have given rise to genetically modified organisms (GMO) and other novel foods. Some people have raised concerns about the safety of GMOs in our food supply, given their incredible dominance in the majority of our diet. Traditional, organic farmers, have consistently been under attack by large corporate farming interests, who seek to dominate the food industry and run family farms out of business. This film looks at our current food system as well as a variety of smaller, organic options available to consumers who want to support sustainable farming methods.

Food and Country(en)

America's policy of producing cheap food at all costs has long hobbled small independent farmers, ranchers, and chefs. Worried for their survival, trailblazing food writer Ruth Reichl reaches out across political and social divides to uncover the country's broken food system and the innovators risking it all to transform it.

Erik and Sigvard: A year in Småland(sv)

Brothers Erik and Sigvard live by old traditions - they grow their own food and bake their own bread. The only time they leave their family farm is to buy tobacco and to see the king and queen visit Växjö, but they once biked to nearby Gislaved.

The Farmer's Time on Earth(sv)

Carving Thy Faith(tl)

A five-year visual ethnography of traditional yet practical orchestration of Semana Santa in a small town where religious woodcarving is the livelihood. An experiential film on neocolonial Philippines’ interpretation of Saints and Gods through many forms of rituals and iconographies, exposing wood as raw material that undergoes production processes before becoming a spiritual object of devotion. - A sculpture believed to have been imported in town during Spanish colonial conquest, locally known as Mahal na Señor Sepulcro, is celebrating its 500 years. Meanwhile, composed of non-actors, Senakulo re-enacts the sufferings and death of Jesus. As the local community yearly unites to commemorate the Passion of Christ, a laborious journey unfolds following local craftsmen in transforming blocks of wood into a larger than life Jesus crucified on a 12-ft cross.

Burial among the Tetela(fr)

Short ethnographic documentary on the Tetela tribe in Congo based upon footage and commentary by director Luc de Heusch from 1953 reassembled by Damien Mottier (Université Paris Nanterre) and Grace Winter (CINEMATEK).

Lotoko(fr)

Short ethnographic documentary showing a leopard dance based upon footage shot by director Luc de Heusch in Congo in 1954 reassembled by Damien Mottier (Université Paris Nanterre) and Grace Winter (CINEMATEK).

Nkumi, everyday life(fr)

Short ethnographic documentary showing some everyday life scenes based upon footage shot by director Luc de Heusch in Congo in 1954 reassembled by Damien Mottier (Université Paris Nanterre) and Grace Winter (CINEMATEK).

The Sabinal Canyon(en)

This 2015 documentary about the history behind the Sabinal Canyon in Texas. The story starts in the Hill Country where Cap. William Ware was given land for his years of service and after moving there started Waresville. After his death the town was moved about half a mile north and was called Montana but after a man was healed by swimming in the Sabinal river for a year the town was renamed Utopia. The movie also talks about town of Vanderpool as well as the Lost Maples state park.

The Moo Man(en)

Modern British dairy farms must get bigger and bigger or go under but Farmer Stephen Hook decides to buck the trend. Instead he chooses to have a great relationship with his small herd of cows and ignore the big supermarkets and dairies. The result is a laugh-out-loud emotional roller-coaster of a film, a heart warming tearjerker about the incredible bonds between man, animal and countryside in a fast disappearing England.

Permaculture Soils(en)

We’ve all seen environmental problems highlighted everyday on the media. Now comes the solution. From the man who said, “You can solve all the world’s problems in a garden” comes Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Soils DVD. 137 minutes of Permaculture soil creation strategies that really work! Even if you have never built a garden or got your hands dirty before, you will learn the secrets of real soil creation – partnering with the life in the Soil! Geoff will take you through every step of the process and explain in detail how to do it yourself. From Compost creation to larger Kitchen Gardens and then to broad acre farming – this is the future of biological agriculture.

The Biggest Little Farm(en)

The successes and failures of a couple determined to live in harmony with nature on a farm outside of Los Angeles are lovingly chronicled by filmmaking farmer John Chester, in this inspiring documentary.

Changing Season(en)

Venture out to the Masumoto Farm – eighty acres of prime, peach-growing orchards – where seven varieties of the sweet juicy fruit are cultivated to sun-kissed perfection by a dynamic father-and-daughter team of David “Mas” and Nikiko Masumoto. Director Jim Choi succinctly captures this underrepresented facet of the CA farming industry about an Asian American family-run business, three generations strong, which in turn presents us with the changing idea of the American Dream. - See more at: http://laapff.festpro.com/films/detail/changing_season_2015#sthash.54OdJcdi.dpuf

Himalayan Pilgrimage(en)

A 16-minute short shot with a totally subjective eye; conveys the mythic life sense and social elements of a people who live in the world's highest mountains.

Banks of the Nile(en)

With a dual motion a cruise ship and a fishing boat pass one another on the Nile and butlers in turbans set up a wooden gangway. Thanks to a rope and pulley system cows climb skywards then disappear into the hold of the sailing vessel. On the bank, black-haired women rock back and forth, bursting out laughing and showing the first signs of going into a state of trance. Never-before filmed gestures and faces of the people of the Nile succeed one another, uprooted to an unknown, magical world. The Banks of the Nile is one of the first experiments of film in colour that uses the Kinemacolor process.

He Is God(en)

About the "concheros", dancers in México City that keep aztec traditions alive.

The Wheat Harvest(en)

The rhythms of a typical day during the summer wheat harvest in Kansas.

Nègres Ashantis: Toilette d'un negrillon II(fr)

A woman from the Ashanti tribe bathes her child in a shallow bowl.

Barrage du Nil(fr)

Travellers, nomads and salesmen make their way along a dam next to the Nile.

Farmers For America(en)

The average age of the U.S. farmer has reached 60. Half of America's farmland will change ownership in the next 15 years. Our nation faces a little-known agricultural crisis on an unprecedented scale. Against all odds, this is the story of an eclectic mix of young people- military veterans, bright-eyed idealists, and multi-generational farmers who are accepting the virtuous challenge of feeding us all. The documentary is narrated by Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs, Returning the Favor and stars farmers from every region of the United States including national agricultural leaders like Joel Salatin, Eliot Coleman, Blake Hurst and Lindsey Lusher-Shute.