Truck Farm 2010
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-FROG (3764)
Produced by Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis
Directed by Ian Cheney
DVD, color, 48 min.
Sr. High - General Adult
Agriculture, Environmental Studies, Food, Gardening, Nutrition, Urban Studies
Date Entered: 10/27/2011
Reviewed by Linda Frederiksen, Washington State University, Vancouver, WAIn 2009, Ian Cheney, a young Brooklyn-based filmmaker and co-creator of the popular feature length documentary King Corn, decided to plant a vegetable garden in the bed of his 1986 Dodge Ram pickup truck. At 1/1000th of an acre, the project joins a growing family of small farms, often in urban environments, that experiment with the design of growing food in unused or unusual spaces. With roof-top city gardens as his own model for efficient soil and water management, other innovative farming projects in the New York area are also presented.
The short film is amusingly narrated while addressing the larger theme of sustainable agriculture, especially in the city the size of New York. As a solar-powered time lapse camera records the growth of the garden, Cheney moves around the city and talks to other New Yorkers engaged in the consumption or production of food. The well-paced film which is both entertaining and informative also includes humorous archival, animated and musical clips.
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