After Winter, Spring
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
In an era of rapid growth of mega-farms, the encroachment of suburbia and new European Union rules and reductions of agricultural subsidies, the farmers in the Perigord region of southwest France are forced to confront challenges that threaten the very existence of their small farms.
Their story is recorded by one of their neighbors, an American filmmaker who grew up on her family's farm in Pennsylvania. Inter-weaving her story and theirs, the documentary explores the nature of the farming life and the rapid changes of the last two decades that have impacted the lives of families whose survival is tied to the land.
The Perigordine farmers show us that as agriculture moves out of the hands of families who have farmed for generations and into a model of 'agriculture as business,' something fundamental shifts. This farming community caught between tradition and an uncertain future struggles to hold on not only to their farms but to a set of values that comes of their intimate relationship with the natural world. AFTER WINTER, SPRING reveals the human story of family farming at a turning point in history.
'I love this film. After Winter, Spring is a beautiful and intimate look into the lives of contemporary French peasants who heroically struggle to maintain the dignity of traditional, tactile ways in an age of EU homogenization. It makes a compelling case for reimagining the policy assumptions that take us down a no-exit pathway for larger scale, increased efficiency, and standardization...Must see! Must share with USA farmers whose link to traditional practices has faded. This is an important and original film.' Richard McCarthy, Executive Director, Slow Food USA
'In the decades to come, After Winter, Spring could serve as an important record of the world's transition from one era to the next. If we're lucky, the film will also inspire a sense of urgency in today's audiences, as they consider what they want from their food systems.' Kristina Johnson, Civil Eats, James Beard Award for Excellence, Publication of the Year 2014
'With beautiful imagery and poignant narration, the film makes it clear that the caring for field and fowl are really issues of the heart and staying connected to the land is vital to our understanding of what it means to be human.' John Rife, film critic and founder of East End Market
'A personal and deeply moving story...After Winter, Spring shares first-hand accounts of the daily struggles and simple pleasures of those who still make their living from the land...As we push to maximize farming efficiency and output it is important to understand what we lose in the process. This is a thought-provoking film for anyone interested in the future of farming and food, but especially important for today's young, aspiring farmers and food-policy activists.' Sean Clark, Associate Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Director of Berea College Farm, Berea College, Co-editor, Fields of Learning: The Student Farm Movement in North America
'A cinematically beautiful, heartwarming, sometimes discouraging, and sometimes optimistic look into the lives of the region's farming community...It elicits a recognition that we are part of this rhythm, connected to people and the natural world in all times and in our own place.' Cherice Bock, Whole Terrain
'Uplifting...This beautiful film will be remembered long after viewing; recommended for all audiences.' Christine Rigda, Univ. of Toledo, Library Journal
'Highly Recommended...An honest and realistic contribution to public awareness of the major issues related to small-scale farming...Can be used to bolster discussions in subjects related to sustainable agriculture, business, globalization, small-scale farming, and preservation of local identity.' Irina Stanishevskaya, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Educational Media Reviews Online
'Make no mistake, this film doesn't only speak of loss and disillusionment, but also of renewal and a perhaps even of hope.' Anne Belchit, Sud-Ouest
'In an era of films pointed in their messages and short on subtlety, After Winter, Spring compels the viewer to reconsider the costs of 'progress' through a deft weaving of spectacular pastoral landscapes and fragile agricultural traditions. The villagers' vignettes beg to be more than echoes of a receding past, as one small village tells a global story in its own quiet way.' Philip Ackerman-Leist, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Director of the Farm and Food Project, Green Mountain College, Author, Rebuilding the Foodshed: How to Create Local, Sustainable, and Secure Food Systems
'The film is never less than a pleasure to watch.' Brian Miller, Seattle Weekly
'The stunningly beautiful landscape of the Perigord region of France provides the backdrop to this story about the changing face of small-holder agriculture in modern Europe, as seen through the eyes of the region's farmers. The parallels to American agriculture are impossible to miss. The insights these farmers offer about the business and lifestyle of farming, the challenges created by large scale, industrial agriculture and EU regulation, as well as their individual solutions to them, speak to the indomitable character and perpetual optimism of farmers everywhere, so effectively articulated by the title, After Winter, Spring.' Gary S. Kleppel, Professor of Biological Sciences, University at Albany-SUNY, Author, The Emergent Agriculture: Farming, Sustainability and the Return of the Local Economy
'After Winter, Spring is a beautifully shot film that takes complex issues of a globalizing food system and makes them relatable, personable and powerful...The film can make issues like subsidies, development and industrialization salient through the family farmers of the Perigord and their struggles between tradition and change.' Dr. Jonathan Deutsch, Professor and Program Director, Hospitality Management, Culinary Arts, and Food Science, Drexel University, Co-author, They Eat That? A Cultural Encyclopedia of 'Weird' Foods from Around the World
'How is it possible to speak of this film without underlining the beauty of the landscapes, the sensitive, poetic, and emotional camera that crosses the Perigord.' A. Champeaux, L'Echo
'A tender, thought-provoking, and visually beautiful look at a vanishing way of life. The characters we meet in the film are real human beings with both real problems and a real affection for the land. It is encouraging to see people who continue to cleave to the old ways in the face of the modern threats of industrialization, consolidation, and bureaucratic regulation. The film does an excellent job of explaining the challenges of being a traditional agriculturist in the era of the rapid expansion of both farm size and farm mechanization. Some of the most useful segments of the film are those that document some of the actual processes and procedures of the traditional lifestyle of the rural Perigord. ' Jeffrey P. Miller, Associate Professor, Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University
'A moving portrait of small family farms...Her lens reveals both the tenuous future of farms where the younger generation has moved away, and the reinvigoration of organic farming by young families attracted to a life in touch with nature...After Winter, Spring is a 'must see' for people interested in environmental preservation, farm to table food production, traditional knowledge systems, and the future of agriculture.' Mervyn L. Tano, President, International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management
'Outstanding photography and a compelling story...Through emotional stories of family farmers in the Perigord region of Southwest France, we are confronted directly with the challenges the world faces in providing healthy food without decimating the environment.' Mr. Jerry Apps, Professor Emeritus of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Author, Old Farm: A History, and The Quiet Season
'Rather than telling us what we should think about change, After Winter, Spring shows us lives connected to the land, emotions without tears, rough and tumble analyses filled with common sense, revealing perseverance, unfailing instinct, and the determination to continue.' Christian Seguin, Portrait du mois, Sud-Ouest de Dimanche
'Achingly lovely...From the idealistic couple starting a tiny organic operation to the 88-year-old vintner/philosopher...are marvelous. Facing tough times, they love their animals and their land with inspiring hope.' Bethany Jean Clement, The Stranger
'A remarkable film that captures and celebrates the beauty of the sadly disappearing peasant/farmer lifestyle in rural France. A must see for anyone serious about good food and where it comes from.' L. John Harris, Zester Daily
'With fascinating detail, After Winter, Spring captures the tenacity of the people who have taken one season at a time for generations...An insightful, lyrical tribute to a way of life on the verge of extinction.' Florida Film Festival
'A rare and intimate view into what is too quickly becoming a lost world...We are given a profound understanding of what it means to live in concordance and partnership with the earth.' Susan Griffin, Author, A Chorus of Stones, and Woman and Nature
'After Winter, Spring is more than a documentary. It's a document for the future.' Germinal Peiro, Deputy to the French National Assembly, Secretary of Agriculture for the Socialist Party
'It's a film that shows the challenges facing traditional farms everywhere. A realistic and sensitive film, it offers a true picture of the life of farm families struggling to make a living by working the land. It deserves a wide audience.' Robert L. Carlson, United Nations Special Ambassador, International Year of Family Farming
'Thought-provoking and memorable, After Winter, Spring is highly recommended.' Midwest Book Review
'When students and others are learning about agriculture and the natural and social sciences, After Winter, Spring is an appropriate resource that can engage and inform them about challenges and opportunities associated with contemporary, sustainable, local farming alternatives.' Vincent N. Lunetta, Science Books and Films
Citation
Main credits
Lit, Judith (film director)
Lit, Judith (film producer)
Lit, Judith (narrator)
Other credits
Cinematographer Stéphan Carbon; editor, Jennifer Chinlun; original music, Todd Boekelheide.
Distributor subjects
Agriculture; Anthropology; Community; Conservation; Environment; European Studies; Food and Nutrition; Food Policy; France; Geography; Globalization; Local Economies; Natural Resources; Rural Studies; Slow Food; Sociology; Sustainable Agriculture; Voluntary SimplicityKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:01.250 --> 00:00:04.834
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
00:01:48.042 --> 00:01:50.041
- There\'s a place where
I turn off the autoroute
00:01:50.042 --> 00:01:53.750
onto a road that goes
into the Perigord region,
00:01:53.751 --> 00:01:57.458
and it\'s suddenly different.
00:01:57.459 --> 00:01:58.792
It\'s like entering
another world.
00:02:05.501 --> 00:02:10.041
I hadn\'t really imagined moving
to the French countryside,
00:02:10.042 --> 00:02:12.458
but something about
this region made
00:02:12.459 --> 00:02:14.125
me want to put down
roots and stay.
00:02:19.042 --> 00:02:21.291
I think that moving here
was, in a way, an effort
00:02:21.292 --> 00:02:23.124
to satisfy a longing
for something
00:02:23.125 --> 00:02:29.082
that I lost as a child with my
family\'s farm in Pennsylvania.
00:02:29.083 --> 00:02:32.082
The farming way of life.
00:02:32.083 --> 00:02:34.541
Some sort of solid
base you can count on,
00:02:34.542 --> 00:02:35.782
that\'s more or less unchanging.
00:02:39.709 --> 00:02:42.333
But over time, I
found people caught up
00:02:42.334 --> 00:02:43.709
in changes I hadn\'t expected.
00:02:50.083 --> 00:02:52.791
At first, it took a
certain amount of courage
00:02:52.792 --> 00:02:55.708
to reach out to my neighbors.
00:02:55.709 --> 00:02:58.666
It was a tremendous curiosity
about how they were living
00:02:58.667 --> 00:03:02.083
and what mattered to them, so
we spent a lot of time talking.
00:03:24.250 --> 00:03:26.791
- Alain lives on a
farm not far from mine.
00:03:26.792 --> 00:03:29.375
He has a passion for
the old ways of farming.
00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:48.041
- Guy lives with his
family in a small village.
00:06:48.042 --> 00:06:51.374
His wife works at
the school nearby.
00:06:51.375 --> 00:06:52.775
Guy does all the
farm work himself.
00:09:37.584 --> 00:09:39.708
- It\'s a little unusual
that a farm passes
00:09:39.709 --> 00:09:42.333
to a daughter as
opposed to a son,
00:09:42.334 --> 00:09:46.166
but Nanou is the one who
has stayed on the farm.
00:09:46.167 --> 00:09:49.083
She has three daughters who
are grown who live nearby.
00:13:05.125 --> 00:13:06.750
- Alfred\'s farm is
so close to mine
00:13:06.751 --> 00:13:08.458
that I can take a
path through the woods
00:13:08.459 --> 00:13:10.083
and land in his courtyard.
00:13:14.334 --> 00:13:18.334
His wife died a number of years
ago, and so now he lives alone.
00:15:59.083 --> 00:16:02.459
(THUNDER)
00:17:50.417 --> 00:17:54.333
- When I first moved
here, my closest neighbor
00:17:54.334 --> 00:17:57.208
was an old man who
lived by himself.
00:17:57.209 --> 00:18:00.082
His name was Mr. Gonzales.
00:18:00.083 --> 00:18:02.541
He always talked about that
you should never take more
00:18:02.542 --> 00:18:04.750
from nature than you need.
00:18:04.751 --> 00:18:07.291
When he went hunting,
he would only
00:18:07.292 --> 00:18:10.041
kill as much as he
really needed to eat.
00:18:10.042 --> 00:18:11.292
It was not a sport to him.
00:18:15.334 --> 00:18:17.124
I think what he
was trying to show
00:18:17.125 --> 00:18:20.459
me was how to live with nature
so that you were part of it.
00:18:25.542 --> 00:18:27.708
In many ways, it\'s what
my father taught me
00:18:27.709 --> 00:18:32.416
when I helped him farm
when I was a child.
00:18:32.417 --> 00:18:35.667
So a lot of what Mr. Gonzales
was saying was an echo.
00:18:38.709 --> 00:18:42.208
When he died,
people were saying,
00:18:42.209 --> 00:18:43.541
\"It\'s the end of an era.\"
00:18:43.542 --> 00:18:50.166
He had epitomized the old way
of living and the peasant life.
00:18:50.167 --> 00:18:55.666
And I realized that the
changes had been very rapid.
00:18:55.667 --> 00:18:58.250
It was getting more and more
difficult to be a small farmer.
00:19:17.542 --> 00:19:19.583
Olivier\'s a young dairy farmer.
00:19:19.584 --> 00:19:23.125
He lives with his wife and
two sons on his parents\' farm.
00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:40.082
- He has his degree
in agriculture,
00:19:40.083 --> 00:19:42.292
and tries to keep up with
new methods of farming.
00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:21.124
- It used to be that as farmers
got older and could do less,
00:24:21.125 --> 00:24:23.249
they\'d sit and look
out at their fields
00:24:23.250 --> 00:24:26.666
and see their children
or their grandchildren
00:24:26.667 --> 00:24:30.082
farming the land
that they had farmed.
00:24:30.083 --> 00:24:31.167
That\'s no longer the case.
00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:40.208
A hundred years ago, well over
half of France\'s population
00:24:40.209 --> 00:24:42.791
were farmers.
00:24:42.792 --> 00:24:45.459
Now, less than 3% farm.
00:26:04.334 --> 00:26:06.292
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:27:37.709 --> 00:27:40.291
- A month after I
was born, my parents
00:27:40.292 --> 00:27:42.584
moved onto my grandfather\'s
farm in Pennsylvania.
00:27:49.125 --> 00:27:51.541
My father began farming
with a team of horses,
00:27:51.542 --> 00:27:57.708
and over time, he got a
tractor and a combine.
00:27:57.709 --> 00:28:00.333
But small family
farms just couldn\'t
00:28:00.334 --> 00:28:06.082
compete with the large scale
farming that was taking over.
00:28:06.083 --> 00:28:10.333
My father realized that he
needed to make more money,
00:28:10.334 --> 00:28:13.541
and he started
taking outside work.
00:28:13.542 --> 00:28:17.542
And then my grandfather began to
sell off the fields one by one.
00:28:20.334 --> 00:28:22.208
This huge field right
behind our house
00:28:22.209 --> 00:28:23.729
was turned into a
housing development.
00:28:26.584 --> 00:28:31.291
It felt like the life was
going out of the farm.
00:28:31.292 --> 00:28:34.208
As a child, I didn\'t
realize that what
00:28:34.209 --> 00:28:37.167
was happening on our farm was
happening all over America.
00:28:41.542 --> 00:28:45.082
In the next 50 years,
more than a million acres
00:28:45.083 --> 00:28:47.292
of Pennsylvania
farmland were lost.
00:29:57.083 --> 00:30:00.542
(BARKING)
00:33:05.459 --> 00:33:07.666
- When I met Isabelle
and Frederic,
00:33:07.667 --> 00:33:10.541
I saw that there were young
people coming from the cities
00:33:10.542 --> 00:33:12.458
who wanted to farm.
00:33:12.459 --> 00:33:14.999
That there\'s a return
to the countryside,
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:17.374
a new wave of energy
that I hadn\'t really
00:33:17.375 --> 00:33:18.584
paid attention to before.
00:35:08.167 --> 00:35:11.208
- Oil and gas industry,
at 40 years old...
00:35:11.209 --> 00:35:15.166
I was a lot more sure of
what I didn\'t want anymore
00:35:15.167 --> 00:35:17.124
than what I wanted to do.
00:35:17.125 --> 00:35:20.792
So I didn\'t want the life I used
to know for the last 15 years.
00:35:37.417 --> 00:35:40.249
- The initial goal is, can
we live off our production?
00:35:40.250 --> 00:35:41.000
Not getting rich.
00:35:41.001 --> 00:35:42.334
Just live correctly.
00:35:54.042 --> 00:35:55.750
- I went to the
Brusquand Farm, and I
00:35:55.751 --> 00:35:58.999
was surprised to find
three generations of women
00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:00.000
running the farm.
00:36:20.792 --> 00:36:23.750
- Polyculture farms
used to allow farmers
00:36:23.751 --> 00:36:28.583
a self sufficiency that\'s
no longer possible.
00:36:28.584 --> 00:36:31.249
To keep their farm alive,
the Brusquand women
00:36:31.250 --> 00:36:33.124
have specialized.
00:36:33.125 --> 00:36:36.416
They raise geese for
confit and foie gras,
00:36:36.417 --> 00:36:38.667
and sell their products
to neighbors and tourists.
00:40:33.083 --> 00:40:35.083
(GUNSHOT)
00:40:56.417 --> 00:40:59.041
- I recently had a
conversation with my father,
00:40:59.042 --> 00:41:03.124
and he was talking about dying.
00:41:03.125 --> 00:41:06.750
And it\'s, of course,
very hard for me to hear.
00:41:06.751 --> 00:41:09.458
And he said, \"Well, you
know, soon I\'ll be dying.
00:41:09.459 --> 00:41:12.666
I\'m 93 years old.\"
00:41:12.667 --> 00:41:17.249
And I said, well, you\'re
very matter of fact about it.
00:41:17.250 --> 00:41:19.291
And he said, \"That\'s
what comes of spending
00:41:19.292 --> 00:41:25.792
your life working with nature.\"
00:44:40.459 --> 00:44:41.791
- Alfred\'s family
and friends know
00:44:41.792 --> 00:44:44.625
how much he loves his
vines, so they still
00:44:44.626 --> 00:44:48.417
come to give him the traditional
help at harvest time.
00:47:20.250 --> 00:47:23.626
(BIRDS CALLING)
00:51:06.542 --> 00:51:08.708
- My father tells me
that with the loss
00:51:08.709 --> 00:51:12.791
of small farms in Pennsylvania,
the wild pheasants are gone.
00:51:12.792 --> 00:51:15.791
There are no more river otters,
and lots of the woodlands
00:51:15.792 --> 00:51:16.792
have disappeared.
00:51:20.083 --> 00:51:22.541
Large farms tend to
clear huge areas so they
00:51:22.542 --> 00:51:25.082
can farm more efficiently.
00:51:25.083 --> 00:51:27.500
The patchwork fields
of small farms
00:51:27.501 --> 00:51:30.791
preserve habitat for many
more species of birds
00:51:30.792 --> 00:51:32.459
and plants and insects.
00:54:35.584 --> 00:54:39.125
(COWS MOOING)
00:54:42.125 --> 00:54:45.542
(QUACKING)
00:54:58.501 --> 00:55:02.042
(CALLING IN FRENCH)
00:58:00.792 --> 00:58:03.583
- I\'ve seen the pendulum
swing away from traditional
00:58:03.584 --> 00:58:08.041
agriculture and small scale
farming... first in America,
00:58:08.042 --> 00:58:09.042
and then here.
00:58:11.667 --> 00:58:15.458
Now the number of small family
farms is increasing in the US,
00:58:15.459 --> 00:58:18.083
and the organic movement
is gaining strength here.
00:58:20.584 --> 00:58:24.166
It seems we had to go
really far in one direction
00:58:24.167 --> 00:58:26.334
before we realized how
much we were losing.
01:00:50.375 --> 01:00:53.082
- Another year has
passed, and what
01:00:53.083 --> 01:00:58.208
began as a nostalgic effort to
put myself where I used to be
01:00:58.209 --> 01:01:00.166
is the very thing
that teaches me
01:01:00.167 --> 01:01:01.792
about finding a
path through change.
01:11:16.542 --> 01:11:19.083
(MUSIC PLAYING)
