On June 8, Common Ground premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The Village East by Angelika held the screening. The documentary discussed racism and climate injustice in the food industry. The film aligns with the Tribeca Film Festival’s mission.
The festival’s main slate highlights feature and short films from diverse creators. The content pushes for social and political changes. Common Ground brings awareness to harmful farming practices. The production team is in favor of sustainable farming techniques.
Rebecca and Josh Tickell directed the film. Laura Dern narrated the feature. The documentary places farmers and families at the forefront. They have become ill and suffered tragedies from Big Agriculture’s profits. One harmful technique is called ‘agrochemical.’
The term refers to toxic chemicals used in industrial agriculture. Chemicals include synthetic fertilizers, hormones, pesticides, and biocides. The film acknowledges racism within this industry. The production team discusses the benefits of regenerative farming.
This phrase refers to an outcome-based crop production system. It restores soil health using eco-friendly tools. It increases the farmer’s productivity and profitability while protecting the climate and biodiversity. The documentary explores this practice’s origins.
It was a pre-colonial technique. Indigenous and Black farmers used this technique to restore soil and keep Earth safe for proceeding generations. In recent years, some Western farmers have returned to this technique. Common Ground’s production team held a press conference to raise more awareness.
Rebecca and Josh Tickell introduced the speakers. Gabe Brown, Rick Clark, Zen Honeycutt, Alejandro Carillo, Jonathan Lungren, Ray Archieletta, Kelly Ryerson, and Carol Clark made appearances. Many have a career associated with farming and were shown in the film. Denn addressed the audience as well. Rebecca and Josh Tickell discussed their motivations for making the film.
Ten years ago, they were asked to make a movie about oil, environmental pollution, and solar power. Seven years later, these became the topics of Kiss the Ground. “It was supposed to release here in Tribeca and it didn’t because the pandemic happened. It did reach a billion people globally,” explained Josh Tickell. The film increased regenerative farming from 100,000 acres to 30 million acres. This spurred many questions about the industry.
People wondered if the technique could make enough food for humanity. “If it was so simple, so possible to use soil, why hadn’t it already happened? Why was standing in the way?” asked Tickell. He and Laura wrote and directed this film to answer these questions. “I’m humbly here in front of the experts standing with the experts who, like the soil, will save us with their wisdom,” said Dern.
Watch highlights from the film press conference below, which was held at the Smyth Hotel in Tribeca. The event featured amazing catering from Little Egg chef Evan Hanczor and cocktails from Ian Somerhalder’s Brothers Bond Bourban. Guests also left with amazing products from ethical farmers.
