The Dirt Whisperer takes a deep dive into the world of homesteading through the eyes of Brian and Shelby Vagg, a couple with agricultural roots who live off the land and have mastered the practice of biological farming. Filmmaker Giorgio Litt explores the different facets of permaculture and soil health, all while getting to the heart of what seems to be an ever-present problem in American food consumption: where does our food really come from? The film will be available for streaming worldwide on Friday, October 1 through the Fall 2021 New Jersey Film Festival.
The Dirt Whisperer opens with the delightful Shelby, sitting at a table and examining the prices of grocery store foods as listed in a paper. She expresses a deep concern about the astonishingly low prices, questioning the quality of food that can be sold for such little money. This acts as the perfect segue into the rest of the film, which shows Brian and Shelby working to create an ecosystem on their property that supports themselves and the wildlife around them.
Throughout the film, Brian and Shelby are shown questioning the health and sustainability of the farming practices in America that clearly serve as the incentive for their conscious lifestyle. In one of the more memorable scenes, Brian walks through a food store and expresses his rightful distaste for the food lining the shelves around him, noting its highly processed nature and lack of nutritional value. What might initially seem snobbish to the viewer almost immediately becomes not only important, but urgent. Why do we settle for eating low quality food?
The answer to this question is complex, but so is the solution. This film got its name because of the highly intricate relationship between Brian and soil, and the effort that goes into maintaining a healthy dirt foundation for growing crops. Litt documents a sort of field trip that Brian goes on to look for fungal networks to add to a compost pile and records him using scientific glassware and microscopes to work with the soil, all of which looked as complicated as it sounds. Litt brilliantly supplements The Dirt Whisperer with animations and found footage, aiding the viewer with a visual understanding of everything from the scientific process behind Brian’s dirt to the hypocrisy of large meat and produce corporations.
One of the things I like most about Brian and Shelby’s story is their focus on permaculture, a method of homesteading that prioritizes Earth care, people care, and fair share. Aided by this philosophy, the pair built a very mutually beneficial relationship between themselves, the crops they grow, the animals they raise, and the wildlife surrounding their property, thus creating a balanced ecosystem. However, being part of the great circle of life, they do consume the animals they raise. One very consciously shot scene depicts Brian and Shelby preparing a chicken to be killed. While typically a scene of this sort would make my skin crawl, their environmentally conscious philosophy and the respectful nature of Litt’s intentional filming and editing process made what easily could have been a graphic and disturbing scene far more approachable.
Brian and Shelby recently left their corporate jobs to fully dedicate themselves to their homesteading roots. Although agricultural passion arguably runs through their veins, it is also a process that requires significant dedication and a willingness to learn. I walked away from this film with a great respect for sustainable agriculture and a more scrutinous eye towards the foods I consume on a daily basis. With this new inquisitive nature instilled in me, I might even start practicing soil biology in my own garden! Don’t miss your chance to learn from The Dirt Whisperer on Friday, October 1 through the New Jersey Film Festival.
Show date: Friday, October 1, 2021. More Info and Tickets are available here.
The Dirt Whisperer – Giorgio Litt (Atlanta, Georgia) A systems program manager and his wife trade their corporate lives for one of biological farming, permaculture, and a sustainable way of living driven primarily by the health of their soil. Raised on homesteads, Brian and Shelby’s move to the city to work for two of the largest corporations on the planet seemed to be a tacit rejection of their upbringings. So with rising temperatures and cost of living, it’s no wonder that their search for meaning, fulfillment, and a closer connection to their food lead them right back to a self-sufficient and rural way of life still second nature to them.In a journey for Brian and Shelby to rediscover a way of life, the process of disconnecting from nearly century-old agricultural systems hasn’t revealed a simple answer to the question of sustainability and crop health. But it has revealed where lies the answer: In the health of their biodiverse soil. 2021; 60 min.
The Fall 2021 New Jersey Film Festival -- which will be taking place on the Fridays and Sundays between September 10 and October 10 will be presenting the Festival exclusively online in October. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. Ticket buyers will also have special access to Filmmaker Introductions and Q+A Sessions for many of the films. To buy tickets go here: https://watch.eventive.org/newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2021
