The award-winning documentary “The Last Harvest” releases for free exclusively on Vimeo for a timely Thanksgiving message of appreciation and acknowledgment of the challenges facing those who grow and harvest our food. The documentary is now available for viewing here. This free screening will be limited through the end of 2021.
Produced in 2019 and released at local film festivals, “The Last Harvest” offers a glimpse into the hopes, hardships, and uncertain futures of three family growers and the lives of those harvesting food in the 21st century. As consumers’ demand for better-tasting, natural and sustainable food increases, the challenges of those responsible for growing this food aren’t always taken into consideration. This documentary touches on how how immigration reform, an improved guest worker program and innovation and collaboration can provide solutions. Essential workers continue to play a critical role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the documentary raises awareness of the challenges and contributions to feeding America.
“Driscoll’s will always be an advocate for immigrants and the farm worker community,” says Soren Bjorn, Driscoll’s president of the Americas and a strategic advisor to the documentary. “They play a critical role in our nation’s most basic ability to feed ourselves.”
“For Americans’ food to continue to be grown in America, immigration reform is essential,” says Ali Noorani, president and chief executive officer of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan advocacy organization. “It is past time for Congress to act on solutions benefiting American farmers and families by offering farm workers the opportunity to earn legal status and eventual citizenship, as well as reform the H-2A agricultural visa program.”
“The Last Harvest” premiered at the 2019 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and has since appeared in more than 30 film festivals around the U.S., including local screenings and private screenings for policy makers. The film has numerous awards from festivals like the Los Angeles Film Awards, the Social Justice Film Festival and the San Diego Latino Film Festival. While Driscoll’s funded the documentary to showcase authentic stories from its network of independent growers, creative freedom around the topic was given to Farm League, the film’s producers. They uncovered issues contributing to the labor shortage and explored possible solutions to those challenges. Among those featured in the documentary is J. Miles Reiter, fourth-generation grower and son of one of Driscoll’s founders.
Viewers interested in supporting immigration reform can take action via the National Immigration Forum urging Congress to provide a pathway to legalization for undocumented farm workers and enhance the H-2A guest worker program.
An expanded distribution strategy for 2022 includes releases on platforms like iTunes, Google Play and more. In addition, discussion panels lead by Food Tank, a think tank for food, will bring together thought leaders seeking to create broader industry collaboration and support to meet challenges facing the agricultural industry.
For more information:
Driscoll's
Press@Driscolls.com
https://www.driscolls.com/