Check It Out: The Garden (2008)

In a film season of remakes, reboots, prequels and sequels, who says that there are not compelling stories waiting to be told? Given both the previously posted about Dhamma Brothers and now this film gem, Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature The Garden, it looks like another strong season of compelling films... of course, if not in theaters, at least on DVD.

In the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, hundreds of mostly Mexican-American families came together and turned a blighted corner of South Central Los Angeles into a 14 acre urban oasis—complete with guavas, papayas and enough fruit and vegetables to feed hundreds of families.

The Garden, a film by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, is the unflinching look at the struggle between urban farmers and the City of Los Angeles and a powerful developer who wants to evict them and build warehouses. The urban farmers consist primarily of immigrants from Latin American countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out. The film follows them as they organize, fight back, and demand a response to the question of, "Where is our 'Justice for all'?"

According to the film's Facebook page, "The Garden explores the fault lines in American Society. It is the story of the country’s largest urban farm, backroom politics, land developers, money, poverty and power. If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up?"

I'm looking very forward to watching this film (likely on DVD--though our local arthouse theater is very good about showing a diverse collection of films) and possibly sharing it at school.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!