In a theater near you Film shows new farmers’ sorrows, joys
Central Coast Farm & Ranch·Friday, September 13, 2019
The Biggest little Farm
BY MICHELE WILLER-ALLREDWhat happens when an idealistic couple living in an urban LA apartment decide to move to a farm with the dream of building a life in perfect harmony with nature? John and Molly Chester offer insight into such a labor of love in “The Biggest Little Farm,” a documentary chronicling their eight years building Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark.
“Our version of a farm would be different. Plants, wildlife, livestock, all working together,” said Emmy Award-winning filmmaker John Chester in his narration of the film released in May. Unbeknownst to them nature has its own ideas, and therein lies the drama in the critically well-received film. The documentary delves into the threats the farm faced from Santa Ana winds and drought, as well as a long list of predators that kill their livestock and devastate their crops. And just when they are about to get their farm on an even keel, the Thomas Fire comes calling.John photographed and directed the 92-minute film detailing the dogged perseverance of the couple and their dedicated crew as they learn eventually to embrace the opportunities provided by nature’s conflicts. The film begins with the Chesters in their Santa Monica apartment, where Molly — a private chef for celebrity clients — longs for room to grow the ingredients she uses in her recipes. The couple decided to adopt a soulful-eyed mutt named Todd, whose incessant barking got them evicted from their place — the catalyst for the Chesters’ move to the farm of their dreams. Except, the long-neglected ranch with its played-out soil “didn’t quite have an abundant feeling of life,” John said. So the Chesters turned to Alan York, an eccentric expert in biodiversity.They ended up ripping out 55 acres of old citrus and replacing those trees with rare varieties of stone fruit. They built a worm-composting facility. They planted cover crops to rebuild the soil, only to find the plants harbored snails that denuded their trees. Those challenges, the Chesters explained, ended up becoming opportunities for them to work with nature rather than against it — some of the film’s most delightful moments. John recalled he decided to make “Biggest Little Farm” as he was walking in an orchard where aphids had been sucking the life out of the trees only days before. The pests were gone, vanquished by the voracious ladybugs the farmers let loose.“It just snowballed from there to one example of (nature’s balance) after another, and I knew I was ready to tell this story,” he said. Four years after they began, they achieved organic and biodynamic certification.John says he doesn’t want anyone to feel this film is trying to promote the only way to farm. Instead, he hopes to inspire viewers to trust that nature has the answers, even if it takes some time to figure out. “It won’t be any one generation to solve it all,” he said. “But, we have to leave our children the building blocks, the healthy functioning soil system, to continue in a direction that no longer threatens the planet’s natural immune system.” Michele Willer-Allred also reports for the Malibu Surfside News.Apricot Lane Farms, 10700 Broadway Road, Moorpark, is a working farm and is open to the public by reservation-only tours: apricotlanefarms.com See it on the big screen or from the comfort of your couch: “The Biggest Little Farm” is playing at select theaters. Showtime information is available at biggestlittlefarmmovie.com. On DVD and streaming at amazon.com.