The Real Dirt on Farmer John

review by Mark Shapiro

If you are into living healthy, if you are into the history of the 60's and the hippy happening, if you are part of the back to the land movement, or if you just want to know more about the relationships between the food you eat and the earth from where it comes, you ought to check out this documentary film - The Real Dirt on Farmer John.

 

 

Created with a nice steady pace and mashing together music, 8mm films and old videos into an interesting pastiche, it tells the story of John Peterson, artist, wanderer, hippie, performer but above all else, farmer, as he tries to make a living in the agricultural community.

Sometimes sad - and sometimes a bit odd, the film is an enlightening tale of how if if you struggle long enough, you will be successful. And if you personally survived the sixties and seventies, there is plenty of odd and strange to bring back some glorious memories.

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The Real Dirt on Farmer John is one of those rare films that are completely unexpected. This epic tale is a moving portrait of farmer John Peterson and his perilous personal journey through the tumultuous ‘60s and psychedelic ‘70s, right up to the biodynamic organic present.

 

A maverick Midwestern farmer and pioneer of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Farmer John founded Angelic Organics, one of the largest CSA in the United States. Out of the ruins of single-crop agriculture, he created a farm village where people and art can thrive alongside agriculture.   (http://www.angelicorganics.com).

 

This powerful story of transformation and renewal is an audience and critic’s favorite, winning over 30 Awards at festivals across the country.

 

Through highly personal interviews and beautifully textured home-movies, filmmaker Taggart Siegel shares Farmer John’s haunting and humorous odyssey, capturing what it means to be wildly different in a rural community.  The Real Dirt on Farmer John is a joyous celebration of one man’s love of dirt and the redemptive power of eccentricity in a modern world that’s gone to seed.

 

CAVU Pictures will release the film nationally this summer on June 22. In New York , the film will open at the Lincoln Plaza and the Quad Cinema

 

BUT, DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT…

See for your self what everyone from Former Vice President Al Gore and Chez Panisse’ Alice Waters to audiences and film critics around the country are saying:

 

CRITICS ARE SAYING THE FILM IS:

 

 “An inspiring tale of healing, growth and the virtue of conviction.”

- The New York Times

 

“What a movie!”

Dorothy Kalins, Newsweek

 

“A loving, moving, inspiring, quirky documentary.”

- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

 

". . . A beguiling combination of agrarian ode and the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, deepened by Peterson’s square sincerity as he struggles to find himself in relation to his family’s land."
- J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader

 

"The Real Dirt on Farmer John examines 50-odd years in the life of its eponymous subject -- a most compelling character -- and in doing so literally provides the viewer with food for thought."

- Variety

 

“A most compelling character. He’s a red state American who shows no hesitation about riding his tractor while sporting a fushia feather boa... suffused with a soulful optimism as vast as the fruited plains.”
 - Scott Foundas, Variety

 

The story is amazing.”

- USA Today

 

 “An inexplicably compelling portrait of a low-key Midwestern eccentric… It may not sound like much, but the film’s oddball charm can melt a die-hard hippie-hater’s heart.”

- Cliff Doerksen, Time Out (Chicago)

 

“Beautifully shot. Heartbreakingly sad. Funny as s**t.  A+.”

 - Portland Mercury (Or)
"’Farmer John’" is sweet … funny …and sad. But, ultimately, it is hopeful

- St. Paul Pioneer-Press”

 

“Full of curious triumphs and outlandish redemptions, effectively links the political and artistic rebellions of the ‘60s to the ecological movements today””

- Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

 

“Regardless of what you think the movie is about, it has a fascinating subject: John Peterson, farmer, performance artist, and author and, at times, a flamboyant thorn in his neighbors' side.”

- Minneapolis Star Tribune

 

 “One of the Top Ten Films of the Year. As funny, heart-stirring and hopeful in turns as any fictional feature. ...[No other documentary] has been so convincing in making the grass roots of our frequently divided country and culture seem so unifying and precious.” 

 - Shawn Levy, The Oregonian

 

“ Lives up to the salaciousness of its title, packing ‘60s radicalism, free love and

the plight-of-the-working-man narrative… feels natural, yet surprises at every turn.”

- Adam Nayman, Toronto Eye Weekly

 

“An enjoyable look at an unconventional American.”

- Walter Addiego, (4 Stars) San Francisco Chronicle


 "I loved this outrageous film! ... It told a deeply personal story in an engaging, moving and highly entertaining manner and allowed the audience to draw their own conclusions about the bigger implications of the plight of family farms in this country, sustainable agriculture and freedom of artistic expression."
 - Audrey Philpot, Malibu Chronicle

 

 “An inspiring, thoroughly moving portrait of organic farmer John Peterson that serves also as a chilling study of superstition and intolerance in the heartland.”
 - Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene

 

"...a personal journey that also stands as homage to a severely threatened American lifestyle and offers hope."
- John A. Nesbit, ToxicUniverse.com
 
"Terribly captivating and enlightening… a rich and revelatory exploration."
- Robert Sims, Palm Beach Daily News

"A touching, humorous portrait of an eccentric farmer..."
- Ray Pride, New City Chicago


"Peterson’s quirkiness and lovability were apparent from the first shot… the audience laughed and cried in all the right places."
- Gayle Worland and Tom Alesia, Wisconsin State Journal


"The Real Dirt on Farmer John is ultimately a story about imagination and the American dream, no less so than if it was about wagon trains striking out west or poets spinning verse in Greenwich Village."
- Joshua Tanzer, OffOffOff

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

 

“Unbelievably special…a real and gripping story with insight and humanity

 - Former Vice President Al Gore

 

 “A charming, wonderful and important movie.”
 - Alice Waters, Chez Panisse and advocate for sound and sustainable agriculture.

"Genuinely beautiful, and genuinely beautifully shot – a cause for hope."
- Albert Maysles,

legendary documentary filmmaker

 

 “I love this film and have found myself talking about it almost daily since I saw it. Farmer John is a compelling and complex character whose story will open your heart, break it, and then fill it with a redemptive vision”

 - Nina Utne, Utne Magazine

AUDIENCES AGREE

Audiences have chosen the real dirt on farmer john as their favorite film

at festivals across the country:

 

Slamdance Film Festival                                  Audience award

Chicago International Doc Festival                   Audience award

Pine Film Festival                                            Best Storytelling

Beloit International Film Festival                      Audience award

Milwaukee International Film Festival               Audience award.
Jackson Hole IDA                                             Audience award.
 Bend Film Festival                                           Audience Award
 Inspiration Film Festival                                  Audience award

Wisconsin International Film Festival               Audience award

Telluride MountainFilm                                                                Audience Award

Beloit International Film Festival                                              Audience Award

PINE Film Festival                                                           Best Storytelling Award

Slamdance Film Festival                                  Audience Award

Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA)         Audience Award (out of 165 films)

 

JURORS AGREE

Jurors have awarded the real dirt on farmer john, top prize at Festivals across the USA

 

San Francisco International Film Festival        Best Documentary

Slow Food on Film                                                          Jury Award

Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival      Best of the Festival award.

Beloit International Film Festival                       Jury award

Newport International Film Festival                  Jury Prize
Santa Cruz Film Festival                                  Festival Directors award.
 Inspiration Film Festival                                  Jury Prize

Wisconsin International Film Festival               Jury Prize

Eco Cinema                                                                        Grand Jury Award

Telluride Mountain Film                                                               Grand Jury Award

Mendocino Film Festival                                                              Jury Award
Beloit International Film Festival                                              Grand Jury Award 

PINE Film Festival                                                           Grand Jury Award

 

Farmer John (Peterson) will be available for interviews in New York in June. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Teri Kane                                                                             Joanne Schioppi

Rogers & Cowan, EVP Film Division                         Rogers & Cowan, Senior Film Publicist

212-445-8415                                                                      212-445-8416

tkane@rogersandcowan.com                                          jschioppi@rogersandcowan.com