Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness

Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness
Directed by
  • Patrick M. Lydon
  • Suhee Kang
Produced by SocieCity Films
Written by
  • Patrick M. Lydon
  • Suhee Kang
Starring
  • Yoshikazu Kawaguchi
  • Larry Korn
  • Kristyn Leach
  • Seong Hyun Choi
  • Ryosok Hong
  • Kazuaki Okitsu
  • Dennis Lee
Music by
  • WindSync
  • Bomnoonbyul
  • Joyful Island
  • Ippen
Cinematography Patrick M. Lydon
Distributed by
  • Gumroad (International)
  • Kaori Tsuji (Japan)
Release date
  • June 1, 2015 (2015-06-01) (Digital Release)
  • March 5, 2016 (2016-03-05) (Belleville Doc Fest)
Running time
  • 75 minutes (U.S. / International)
  • 64 minutes (Japan / Korea)
Country United States, Japan, South Korea
Language English, Korean, Japanese
Budget $30,000 USD

Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness is a documentary/art film released in June 2015 that takes audiences through farms and urban landscapes in Japan, South Korea, and the United States, interviewing leading practitioners in the Natural Farming movement.[1] The film began when an environmental artist (Patrick M. Lydon) and an environmental book editor (Suhee Kang), had a chance meeting in Seoul, South Korea, and began conducting short interviews together with leaders in the ecology and social justice movements. Upon meeting Korean farmer Seong Hyun Choi however, the two were so impressed by his ecological mindset and way of working, that they set out to produce a feature film about the movement. Lydon and Kang ended up quitting their jobs, giving away most of their possessions, and becoming voluntarily homeless for four years in order to afford producing the film.[2][3][4]

The film is split into three sections 1) Modern Life, 2) Foundations and Mindset of Natural Farming, and 3) Natural Farming in Practice and Life. According to the filmmakers, as they began to understand more about how natural farming itself was not rooted in methods, but in a way of thinking, they chose to explore the life philosophies and ways of thinking of natural farming practitioners in a more free-flowing and artistic way, rather than an instructive one; the result is an unconventional documentary that features slow paced musical interludes alongside interviews. Reviewers have called both "meditative, and mindful," and "an inspiring call to action."[5][6] Author and musician Alicia Bay Laurel called the film "both art and documentary".

Production

Lydon and Kang spent what they call a "meager" life savings to make the film, along with the volunteer efforts of farmers, translators, writers, musicians they had met during their journey. Although the film was filmed, written, and edited entirely by the two directors, they readily admit that the process of making the film was co-operative effort, with more than 200 volunteers directly involved in the process in some way. The soundtrack was recorded with professional musicians from each of the three countries where filming took place, all of whom donated their time to contribute to the film project.[7] With the continued help of international volunteers, the film is available in four languages (English, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese), and three more (Chinese, Portuguese, French) are in progress.[8][9][10]

Tour and critical reception

Artists and filmmakers, Patrick M. Lydon and Suhee Kang host a 'mandala' workshop after a screening of their film in Seoul, South Korea.
Artists and filmmakers, Patrick M. Lydon and Suhee Kang host a 'mandala' workshop after a screening of their film in Seoul, South Korea.

Frustrated by the lack of distribution and film festival options for low- and no-budget films, the filmmakers made the decision to manage distribution and touring in the same way they went about filming, through co-operative effort. With the help of volunteers, independent theater owners, and community organizers, they launched an extensive tour throughout Japan and South Korea from 2015-2016, eventually screening the film at over 130 venues.[11]

Rather than simply screening the film, the filmmakers decided to transition their existing media production organization SocieCity, into a vehicle for art and community engagement.[12] They made a point of hosting interactive events along with their screenings and in several cases, stayed in communities for up to three months at a time to build natural gardens and host a project they call REALtimeFOOD, a grown-to-order restaurant which connects the ideas from the film with real-world practices in farming, food, and crafts.[13][14] In most cases, these efforts were funded by grants from local philanthropic organizations and/or supported by the communities themselves.[15][16]

Interested in the unconventional way the film was being made and toured, multiple magazines and newspapers in Japan and Korea followed the directors during several parts of their journey, notably ESSEN, Bar and Dining, and Road magazines, and Shikoku Shinbun and Huffington Post newspapers.[17][18][19]

During the tour, the film was eventually picked up by festivals including Tassie Eco Film Festival and Belleville Doc Fest.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hong, Ryoseok; Kawaguchi, Yoshikazu; Korn, Larry (2000-01-01), Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness, retrieved 2017-04-18
  2. ↑ "Final straw: food, earth, happiness - Kimchi&Basil". Kimchi&Basil. 2016-02-20. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  3. ↑ "A 'Root' Solution | Final Straw – Food | Earth | Happiness". www.finalstraw.org. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  4. ↑ "Lydon: Ghost Ship raises big questions about arts and culture". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  5. ↑ "Love nature, eat well – Mindful Pie". mindfulpie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  6. ↑ "Eco Farming". Clean Eating Magazine. Active Interest Media. July 1, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Film Soundtrack Recording with WindSync | Final Straw – Food | Earth | Happiness". www.finalstraw.org. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  8. ↑ "Filmmaker Spotlight: Patrick Lydon & Suhee King". Chelsea Breaks the News. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  9. ↑ "Film Soundtrack Recording with WindSync | Final Straw – Food | Earth | Happiness". www.finalstraw.org. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  10. ↑ "The Documentary | Final Straw – Food | Earth | Happiness". www.finalstraw.org. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  11. ↑ "Tour Dates and Screenings | Final Straw – Food | Earth | Happiness". www.finalstraw.org. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  12. ↑ "Social Practice Artwork: A Restaurant and Garden Serving up Connections to Urban Nature". artseverywhere.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  13. ↑ "Bar&Dining Magazine : 네이버 블로그". blog.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  14. ↑ "REAL time FOOD Project - Day One - World's Slowest Restaurant Opening". Setouchi Explorer. 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  15. ↑ "おおさか創造千島財団 » 2015年度". www.chishimatochi.info (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  16. ↑ "Final Straw". The CSPA. 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  17. ↑ "Connecting to Life with Natural Farming in Megijima" (PDF). Shikoku Shinbun. September 18, 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  18. ↑ ""모든 것이 연결되어 있다는 깨달음이 시작"". 허핑턴포스트 (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  19. ↑ "내일의 식문화를 일구는 사람들이 보내 온 새해 편지" (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  20. ↑ "Belleville International Documentary Festival - Official Program" (PDF). 1 February 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
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