Food Matters: A Monthly Film Series - The Garden

(Scott Hamilton Kennedy, 2008, 80 min.)

"We award this film for its tenacity in storytelling in the face of injustice, and the filmmaker's singular vision in bringing a gripping, dramatic, and important story to the public eye. The Garden has raw emotion, visceral energy, and nail-biting twists and turns. It unravels a complex and layered tale of the destruction of America's largest urban farm that must not be forgotten" (The Silverdocs Sterling US Feature Jury).

The 14-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country's most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis. The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers: Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public? The powers-that-be have the same response: "The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do."
If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up?

The Garden has the pulse of cinèma vèritè with the narrative pull of fiction, telling the story of the country's largest urban farm, backroom deals, land developers, green politics, money, poverty, power, and racial discord. The film explores and exposes the fault lines in American society and raises crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT:

"There are so many reasons I was inspired to pick up my camera and follow this story. The first time I stepped onto the garden at 41st and Alameda, the city of Los Angeles seemed to vanish. Surrounded by varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs, the smell, the air was different immediately. And the people: warm, humble, generous in spirit, and with the bounty of their plots. But there was another characteristic to the farmers that is essential to this story: while most had never done anything political before, they found a way to get organized, ask questions, do research, and not give up without a fair assessment of what happened here. So with the threat of bulldozers only weeks away, my journey with The Garden began. At every turn, we were faced with more and more complex questions, like what is the best use of our limited lands, and how do we make sure that all parties are equally represented in that discussion? Do any of us rise to such challenges as 'Justice for all,' or are we more often derailed by things like bias, self-interest, greed, and ego? To me it is both simple and wickedly complex, timeless and timely: a fascinating story about the many layers of America. At a moment when economic insecurity abounds—as rising food prices, energy, and environmental crisis confront us at seemingly every turn—The Garden tells an essential story and serves as a powerful symbol of the larger world around us."

SCOTT HAMILTON KENNEDY (Director / Producer / Camera / Editor):
Scott's debut documentary, OT (Our Town), was an official selection and won awards at some of the top film festivals in the world. In its theatrical release, OT garnered rave reviews and was selected for several best of lists (including Kenneth Turan's in the L.A. Times). OT was also honored by being short listed for an Oscar nomination and was nominated for Best Documentary at the Independent Spirit Awards. Scott started his career in music videos, making several number-one internationally aired videos including Jimmy Cliff's remake of "I Can See Clearly Now." As a director, Scott has worked with Showtime, CBS, AMC, Roger Corman, and Mattel. Scott is developing his narrative feature script Up River, an urban adventure movie set on the L.A. River, which went through the IFP/FIND Directors Lab. He is also in postproduction on a reality series entitled Fame High, a show about the L.A. County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), which follows freshmen and seniors through a school year as they try to become successful actors, singers, dancers, and musicians.

www.thegardenmovie.com