Media That Matters
Food and Society Fellow, Johanna Divine, Receives Nourishing Change Award at the Fifth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival

  Watch Young Agrarians.

Johanna Divine's 8-minute documentary film, Young Agrarians, started on a road trip from Palmer, Alaska to Tumacacori, New Mexico.

Johanna Divine

It resulted in winning the Nourishing Change Award supported by the W.K Kellogg Foundation at the Fifth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival in New York City.

Young Agrarians is intended to introduce young people to new ways of looking at agriculture and food production. The film relates the stories of small-scale farmers, ranchers, and market gardeners of all ages and backgrounds who have been drawn by their love of the land to grow food.

"I wanted this film to encourage people to get to know where their food comes from and support the good farmers that grow it," says Divine, a W.K. Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellow.

The Fifth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival is the brainchild of Media Rights, a New York City-based nonprofit dedicated to maximizing the impact of social-issue documentaries and shorts. Media Rights is also a project of Arts Engine, Inc., which supports, produces, and distributes independent media of consequence and promotes the use of independent media by advocates, educators and the general public.

Tomatoes, anyone? A crew member from the FOOD for Lane County Youth Farm in Eugene, Oregon harvests the season's best for their farm stand.

This year's festival featured seasoned filmmakers as well as talented youth. Films addressed topics including politics and civil engagement, the war in Iraq and military recruitment, media policy and the digital divide, gay rights, juvenile justice, drug addiction, global warming and transportation alternatives, sustainable agriculture/development, and racial identity/tolerance.

MediaRights received over 450 submissions from producers across the United States and the world. Official selections were chosen by a jury including Morgan Spurlock, the creator of the hit feature film, Super Size Me; Sean Wilsey, a writer and editor at McSweeney's; and Mahan Bonnetti, the founder and executive director of the African Film Festival.

"There is an increasing demand for independent media, and we've found the most entertaining, timely, and innovative work out there," says Katy Chevigny, executive director of Arts Engine, Inc. "We can't wait to bring these vital perspectives to audiences around the country."

Divine's portrayal of young people such as Kelly Humphrey, a fourth generation family farmer from Illinois who moved to California to study organic agriculture and start her own farm, and Dove Miller, a member of Eugene, Oregon-based Food for Lane County Youth, who recently started college, garnered the jury's attention.

"There are enormous hints that people are more interested in their food. Look at the impact of Super Size Me. Food and its impact on our culture is garnering interest and recognition now greater than ever before. Film is a powerful way to connect and re-connect people and food," Divine says.