“Our Farms, Our Farmers” is a documentary film about how farming has evolved and is continuing in our community. Created by Pine Plains residents Keith Reamer and his wife, Murphy Birdsall, a Herald volunteer, the film draws on interviews with many active working farmers. The film was produced by the Little Nine Partners Historical Society and is now posted on their website. You can view “Our Farms, Our Farmers” here.
The genesis of the project was the idea that the time was right to gather oral histories from an aging generation of farmers who have spent their lives in the fields and barns around Pine Plains. Filmmaker Reamer said, “The first time the film was shown was a private screening for the farmers and their families. The fear is, when making a documentary, that [the subjects] will feel they are misrepresented. They seemed to be happy with it, and it led to a long discussion. Seeing how it connected was a major sign to me that the film had some power.”
At the film’s premiere last March, many of those farmers expanded on the themes of the film in a lively post-show discussion. “The screening at The Stissing Center was extraordinary – a full house, and could have sold more tickets,” said Reamer. “After the film, the farmers came on stage for a Q & A, and at the end, the town gave them a standing ovation!”
Since then, the film has been presented at the Dutchess County Fair, the Farm Film Festival at the Crandall Theatre in Chatham, N.Y., and the Montclair (N.J.) Film Festival. Of the Montclair showing, Reamer said, “It was thrilling to see that the audience didn’t have to know the people personally to be touched by them.”
It states that this film is now available. I can’t find it???
Hello Freda, the film can be viewed for free on the Little Nine Partners Historical Society website. Here is the link: http://lnphs.com/our-farms-our-farmers