Filmmaking | Interviews

How Sweet It Is

1 Mar , 2005  

Written by Sara Faith Alterman | Posted by:

Documentary filmmakers Laura Meister and Erica Spizz capture the dynamic of a community dedicated to supporting local agriculture with their short film 'Sweet Soil,' screening at the Brattleboro Women's Film Festival this month.

In Western Massachusetts, the Berkshire Cooperative Market is a hub of activity; not only for food shoppers, but for local farmers who produce an abundant array of fare such as delicate salad greens, crisp autumn fruits, savory, complex cheeses. Documentary filmmakers Laura Meister and Erica Spizz captured the dynamic of a community dedicated to supporting local agriculture with their short film "Sweet Soil."

"Sweet Soil" introduces us to four farms: Equinox Farm, which specializes in greens, Rawson Brook Farm, producer of Monterey Chevre cheeses, Thompson-Finch Farm, offering diversified vegetable crops and pick-your-own fruits, and High Lawn Dairy Farm. Each family-run farm is dedicated to providing their surrounding community with healthy, delicious fare. They are able to do so through a cooperative market that is equally dedicated to indigenous farming, as well as allowing the local economy to thrive.

Sara Faith Alterman: What inspired this film? Did either of you have a prior connection with the cooperative market, or any experience with local agriculture?

Laura Meister: The co-op actually asked us to make the film in conjunction with their grand opening to a new building. They were moving from a small store to a much bigger location, and they wanted, as a part of this re-opening, to do a video that showed the connection between the farmers and the co-op, and the way that their relationship helps to keep local produce available. I’ve worked on a lot of small farms, and I had interned on a lot of film projects. So when it came time to go to school for film, I chose to come out here (to Western Massachusetts) because I knew that the subject matter of farming would be close at hand.

Erica Spizz: I’ve been involved in the co-op as a working member, and I have background working in natural food stores and have been witness to organic food becoming big business and the conglomeration of natural foods, the general degradation of the food supply that’s been going on. I was excited to learn about the small-scale agriculture that’s going on in backyards here in Western Massachusetts.

SFA: What kind of audience are you, and the cooperative market, hoping to reach this film? Do they hope to use it only as a local promotional tool?

Meister: I think initially the co-op wanted to reach the local audience to help people in the community here understand what the difference is between local foods and commercial product, and to remind people that if they see that the local salad greens cost a dollar more per pound than the one from California, what that extra dollar is actually supporting. We have a lot of people tell us, after seeing the film that "Sweet Soil" caused them to refocus on that issue. For example, regarding Rawson Brook Farm and the local Monterey Chevre they produce; someone had told me that they only used to buy the cheese when people came to visit from out of town, because it seemed so special, but now they were planning to buy it all the time because seeing the actual faces of the people who produce the cheese and learning about how buying local [food] keeps the land open, they were able to make a connection. So the film is for a local audience, but it has been used widely with other co-ops; through the Berkshire Co-op Market the film has been distributed to many other co-ops in the country. It was shown last year at a national convention of co-ops. It’s been screened for co-op members, for staff, we’ve also shown it at organic farming conferences and universities, high schools, even elementary schools. So it kind of took on more of a life than anyone expected it to. We made it for the immediate moment, but it has seemed to resonate a lot and it has gone a lot further than we initially expected.


The icon of "Sweet Soil."
[Click to enlarge]

SFA: That reaction of people appreciating the higher cost of locally grown or produced food; was that a common reaction for audiences? How has business changed for the Berkshire Cooperative Market since you started showing the film?

Spizz: We wanted also to demonstrate the difference between local and organic. There’s so much organic food available now that comes from places like California, and it’s a lot cheaper that stuff that’s locally produced that’s not "certified organic". With the new regulations, you can’t use the word ‘organic’ unless you’re certified, and a lot of small farmers aren’t certified even though they have organic practice. So we wanted to address some of that issue in the film. In general, the sales for the co-op have skyrocketed, but that’s also because they’ve moved to a more central location and a larger store. It does seem, though, that, according to the co-op’s produce manager, that they are selling a higher percentage of locally grown foods.

Meister: I think one of the points that comes out is that something that seems more expensive in the moment is actually less expensive in the long run. When you pay less for food that comes from California, you’re actually paying more, ultimately, because of the destruction of our own environment and the destruction of our own local economy. When the small farmer goes out of business, it’s actually costing us all a lot more in the long run. For the produce manager of the co-op to work with forty-two different local farmers instead of just making one order with a main produce distributor, it takes him more time, so it costs the co-op more money, but people in this community are just clamoring for local food. I think that we’re part of a much larger movement, too. I think I’m much more aware, since making the film, that there’s so much advocacy now for local food in many communities. It seems to be an issue that’s getting more mainstream interest.

SFA: You said that a lot of the farmers have an organic practice, but are unable to become ‘certified’ organic? What do you mean by that?

Meister: It’s because it’s very expensive to become ‘certified’, and when you work on a very small scale, often times it’s prohibitively expensive. There are certain requirements; for example, a farm has to be observed for three years in a row to make sure that they’re not using any chemicals in the soil. A lot of the small farms here don’t use any chemicals and they don’t use any pesticides or herbicides, but because they’re on such a tight, tiny budget, they can’t put the money into getting organic certification from the government.

SFA: The soundtrack to the film is amazing. Tell me about the music; it was composed by local musicians?

Meister: And they’re farmers! Don MacLean [of the Thompson-Finch farm], he did a lot of the music. His band is called Mountain Laurel; they’ve been playing together for over twenty years, and they do a contra dance every other week. Jacob [an intern at Rawson Brook Farm], his band is called Burnt Turnip. It was kind of random; I was listening to a CD by The Clayfoot Strutters, a Vermont band, and they’re friends with Jacob. I was listening to the CD obsessively while I was driving to Boston one day to pick up equipment for the shoot, and there was one track, a track that we ended up using in the film, and while I was listening to the song I could imagine all kinds of shots and montages. From there, I started realizing that we were filming farmers who were also musicians, and that we could use amazing local music. It seemed very appropriate for the subject matter.

Sweet Soil will be screening March 6th and March 20th as part of the Brattleboro Women’s Film Festival. For more information about the film or to purchase a DVD, visit www.berkshirecoop.org/sweetsoil and for more information about the festival, visit http://www.womensfilmfestival.org/


Sweet Soil will be screening March 6th and March 20th as part of the Brattleboro Women's Film Festival. For more information about the film or to purchase a DVD, visit www.berkshirecoop.org/sweetsoil and for more information about the festival, visit http://www.womensfilmfestival.org/

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