A
Documentary About Modern Day Urban Homesteaders
HOMEGROWN (2008) follows the
Dervaes family who run a small organic farm in the heart of urban Pasadena,
California. While “living off the grid”, they harvest over 6,000
pounds of produce on less than a quarter of an acre, make their own bio diesel,
power their computers with the help of solar panels, and maintain a website
that gets 4,000 hits a day. The film is an intimate human portrait of what
it’s like to live like “Little House on the Prairie” in the
21st Century.
Director’s
Statement
Many people are becoming aware of the environment. We may have gone to see
“An Inconvenient Truth”, changed our light bulbs, or started to
recycle more. But how many of us are really walking the walk? I know I’m
not.
When I heard
about the Dervaes family, I sensed that there was a human story behind the
headlines about global warming or buying organic produce. I wanted to find out
what it takes to live the life of an environmental pioneer. I don’t wish
to simply glorify or romanticize their way of life, however. I want to show
that along with the positive benefits there are also sacrifices. Truly living
by your ideals can have costs. I believe that recognizing the hardships the
Dervaes have faced makes their work all the more inspiring.
HOMEGROWN is
ultimately a family story. It’s about what lead them to where they are
today, what changed them and what keeps them together. Perhaps by learning of
their journey to a sustainable life style, we might be inspired to take our own
first steps.
About
Robert McFalls
Early in his
career he was an associate editor on “American Dream”, the Barbara
Kopple documentary, which won the Academy Award in 1990. That experience helped
him to see what a broad reach a well-crafted documentary could have. He
recently edited a documentary feature on the Dalai Lama, which is now screening
at festivals around the world.
Music
The
beautiful music for this documentary was performed by our great American
homegrown musicians Jay Unger & Molly Mason.
Jay Ungar
and Molly Mason are best known for their haunting composition Ashokan Farewell
in Ken Burns’ hit PBS series “The Civil War”. The soundtrack
won a Grammy and Ashokan Farewell was nominated for an Emmy. They’ve
garnered legions of fans through their appearances on “Great
Performances”, “A Prairie Home Companion”, their own public
radio specials, and work on film soundtracks such as “Brother’s
Keeper”, “Legends of the Fall”, and a host of Ken Burns
documentaries.
About the
Family
The Dervaes
Family (Jules, Anaïs, Justin & Jordanne)
Since the
mid 1980s, Jules Dervaes and his family have steadily worked at transforming an
ordinary residential lot in Pasadena, California into a verdant oasis in the
midst of the city. On their small fifth of an acre they are striving to be a
self-sustaining urban homestead complete with bio diesel power, solar energy,
and wastewater management. These eco-pioneers grow much of their own food and
raise a menagerie of chickens, ducks, goats, and an occasional cat. They have
been the subject of numerous articles in newspapers around the country,
including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and were recently featured
on ABC's Nightline. You can learn more about them at their website: www.pathtofreedom.com
More about the film, view trailer and more: http://www.homegrown-film.com