DRYLAND documentary makes its Portland premiere
as an Official Selection of the 41st Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival.
A small town in the American West struggles for survival,fueled
by ingenuity, heart…and axle grease.
PORTLAND, OREGON, NOVEMBER 3, 2014—Dryland is an intimate portrait of rural America in transition, through the eyes of a young man pursuing his dream and a town fighting to survive. The 62-minute film will screen in Portland, Saturday, November 15, at 3:30 p.m. at the Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, inside the Portland Art Museum, as part of the 41st Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival. The screening directly follows a composer’s workshop, hosted by the Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival, offered by award-winning Drylandcomposer Mark Orton (Nebraska, My Old Lady.) The directors, Sue Arbuthnot and Richard Wilhelm, who received an Oregon Arts Commission Media Arts Fellowship for Dryland, and the film’s two lead cast members, will be present to answer questions after the screening.
The film’s mission is to spark fresh conversation about the need to preserve family farms and reinvigorate local towns, while bridging gaps in understanding between urban and rural Americans, keen to participate in a truly sustainable future for agriculture. A recent panel discussion, “Finding a Common Language: Farming in Rural and Urban Communities,”included Professor Gigi Berardi, with Western Washington University’s Department of Environmental Studies, and Debbie VanderVeen, Whatcom County Farm Bureau President.
Told over ten years, Dryland allows rare access into the desires and obstacles experienced by those who grow our food—now just 1% of Americans. While Josh Knodel yearns to remain on his 4th generation Eastern Washington wheat farm, forces of advancing technology, global economics, and an ever-increasingly extreme climate bear down on family farms around the country and the world.
But farmers rarely take no for an answer. Battling rural decline, the tiny town of Lind stages an annual combine demolition derby, in a boisterous, quirky feat to preserve the region’s agricultural heritage. Metal-grinding, exuberant fun, these hulking out-of-retirement wheat combines duel with the same “get-‘er-done” fortitude keeping struggling towns and family farms afloat.
Josh, 18, aided by best friend Matt Miller, 17, is as passionate about winning the derby as he is about farming. But even though their combine, JAWS, often takes the title, Josh’s dream shatters when he learns he must leave home to find a job. Ultimately, through persistence and hard work, his family is able to bring him home and continue the family’s legacy.
Called “a bittersweet and beautiful new film” by Modern Farmermagazine and “moving” by Grist, Dryland plays a cinematic duet between a freewheeling spectacle and a wistful meditation on our changing heartland. Contrasting the measured cadences of rural life with the upbeat pace of the contest, the film’s rhythms are poignantly scored by Mark Orton, who recently scored the Oscar-nominated Nebraska. A donated song by John Mellencamp, and a song by Don Walser round out the soundtrack.
Awarded Best Feature Documentary at the 2014 Ellensburg Film Festival, Dryland premiered in February 2014 at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, and has been selected to screen in festivals in Ohio, Oregon, Iowa, Washington, and Utah, and recently screened in New Zealand. A “Grass Routes” screening tour under the banner of Cultivating Rural Resilience has begun, uniting diverse audiences in a movement to reinvigorate rural communities and support sustainable agriculture.
“Dryland is a both a raucous celebration of the culture of agriculture and an honest look at the reality of family farming…whether the family farm can sustain the next generation is a question faced all over this country and one that is crucial to the future of the food system and our nation. Dryland is a fantastic story of farming, family, community and hope!”
—Jennifer Fahy, Farm Aid
“Dryland does a remarkable job of capturing the heart and soul of two wheat farming families in eastern Washington, displaying their passion for farming and their commitment to maintaining their way of life. It provides an excellent opportunity for those of us not living on a farm to see firsthand what it takes to be a successful farmer in today’s economy.”
—Tom Davis, Washington Farm Bureau
High-resolution stills available upon request. Samples here.
About Hare in the Gate, LLC
Based in Portland, Oregon, Sue Arbuthnot and Richard Wilhelm formed Hare in the Gate Productions in 1999, creating award-winning documentaries exploring such topics as affordable urban housing, Native American history, and portraying world-renowned artists. Their work aims to forge connections and deepen our understanding of a complex world. Splitting time between Portland and rural southeast Oregon, both partners maintain close ties with rural life and a deep interest in the viability of the family farm. More information can be found at www.hareinthegate.com, or join the Dryland conversation on Twitter and Facebook.