New to VOD this week:
THE BULLISH FARMER
Director:
Ken Marsolais
World Premiere:
Cinequest 2017
Select Festivals:
Berkshire, Macon, Woods Hole, United Nations Association, Sedona
About:
An investment banker gives up Wall Street to become a sustainable farmer.
After more than a decade as a successful Wall Street banker, John left behind the money and the pace of NYC to purchase 185 acres of land in upstate New York and take a different path. Now known as “John Boy,” he builds up a small-scale farm, growing crops and raising livestock, gaining a reputation for his traditional methods learned by veteran farmers. In this earnest and modest project, director Ken Marsolais profiles John Boy as he reveals how he was motivated to begin speaking out against industrial farming methods, GMOS, and other threats to the kind of small-scale, sustainable farming – and food production – in which he so passionately believes. While John Boy is a likeable enough figure, the film’s placid, straightforward approach makes it fairly unmemorable and best suited to a specialized audience already interested in the topic.
what (not) to doc 