They say that Mercury Retrograde—the triannual interval probably made up by astrologers to keep themselves employed—is a time to look back, reflect, and deal with that stack of papers on your desk. This week, I’ve done all that… and more.
The last public screening of Dreaming of a Vetter World that I attended was October 13th, 2019 at the Ross Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska. Several members of the Vetter family—as well as the local food and farm contingent—were there. It was a good screening.
I had no way of knowing it would be the last one.
A bunch of screenings and festivals were lined up for the next year—2020—but by February, all plans flew out the window. One by one, those dates were canceled: movie theaters closed down, event spaces went belly-up. The idea of sitting next to a stranger—inside!—for over an hour suddenly seemed dangerous and risky, though we’d done it our entire lives.
The film I’d put years of effort into met with a quiet and an untimely demise; pretty low on the casualty list, but a casualty nonetheless.
Though it’s been online ever since, I hadn’t watched the film for three and a half years. The timing is kind of ironic: I'd spent three years shooting and almost a year editing—an equal amount of time away from it as dedicated to making it.
I was frankly scared to watch it. I worried that the film would feel hopelessly dated. A lot has changed in the past few years. We were so distracted by the pandemic and politics that discussions of GMOs and pesticides took a backseat to bigger worries. There was more to steal our attention than to be concerned about where our food comes from and why regenerating soil is crucial. Meanwhile, GMO and pesticide use continued to ramp up, unnoticed by those not directly affected by dicamba drift and other scary new developments like RNAi.
I invited my neighbor, Stephanie, over to be my screening emotional support animal. She’s a photographer and video editor; I knew she’d be a good test audience. Also, she’d never seen the film. We sat down to watch, eating organic popcorn sent from the Vetter farm.
It was much better than I’d expected it to be. It's a truly beautiful film about a truly beautiful family. The perspective gained from avoiding it for three and a half years was more valuable than I could have imagined. However, I saw a lot of room for improvement.
The version of the film that screened at film festivals and other places was one hour and 17 minutes. It's been in my mind to cut it down to an hour, just to see. So, taking advantage of the fresh eyes and new perspectives—and Mercury Retrograde—I did just that this week.
In many ways, the film is the same; in many ways, it's different. The process of chopping it up and rearranging it was fun: sort of like taking a favorite bridesmaid’s dress and changing it into a head-turning new springtime frock.
A lot has changed on the Vetter farm since I was there. The foundation David Vetter mentions at the end of the film is going strong. After some rocky personnel changes, the farm has reached a level of stability—even experienced some growth—not easy during the tumultuous times we've just come out of.
So, if you’re looking for a way to celebrate Earth Day—and remember: every day is Earth Day—please have a look at this updated version of Dreaming of a Vetter World.
The powerful takeaway—for me—was remembering that there are still good people in the world trying to do good things. This is a message we need more of these days.