https://www.biggestlittlefarmmovie.com/
The Biggest Little Farm chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature’s conflicts, the Chesters unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons, and our wildest imagination. Featuring breathtaking cinematography, captivating animals, and an urgent message to heed Mother Nature’s call, The Biggest Little Farm provides us all a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet.
Why Breakout Documentary ‘The Biggest Little Farm’ Didn’t Sell to Netflix, from Poop to Nuts
John and Molly Chester’s 200-acre Apricot Lane Farms is a rousing success. But the Emmy-winning wildlife filmmaker (“The Orphan”) and traditional foods chef did not see that bright future eight years ago when they were evicted from their cramped Santa Monica apartment (their dog Todd was a barker) and decamped to Moorpark, Calif. to try their hand at organic farming.
When they launched the farm, John thought he was chucking his directing career. “I quit the film business with no intention of making this film. It repulsed me,” he said, “because what were we going to say? We had no experience farming. What was the story going to be? Would it work out? Was it a pipe dream? Was it real? Was it plausible to farm with a restored ecosystem?”
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‘Biggest Little Farm’: A beautiful tale, sadly lacking context and recognition of the true heroes
The documentary The Biggest Little Farm is an accessible, beautiful and emotive documentary, demonstrating farming’s ability to completely regenerate abused and depleted farmland. It shows that when used correctly, agriculture can and will completely transform damaged landscapes, help fight climate change, and rebuild lost ecosystems and biodiversity. The Biggest Little Farm displays this with stunning cinematography, comparable in visual quality to the BBC’s Planet Earth. It captures the process of nature healing itself after irresponsible agriculture-use and drought; a process, made possible when humans lend a hand.
Molly, John and their dog Todd, the trio at the center of the documentary, raise funds and buy an old apricot farm. They refuse to use chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides to try to produce crops in the dead soil of the farm. Instead, under the generous guidance of Alan York, they employ what they call “traditional farming” and biodynamic farming approaches. Along with the crucial help of volunteers, local farmers, and a VERY generous donor, they turn Apricot Lane Farm into a lush and productive farm. As it all unfolds, the viewer gets front row seats to a seven-year time-lapse of 200 acres of dry and dead land exploding into life. This footage shows the astounding results of some of the strategies that pioneers within agriculture development have come up with. Many of these techniques are also applied by volunteers at our restoration camps here at ERC (Ecosystem Restoration Camps).
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About
Apricot Lane Farms is a traditional foods farm started by John and Molly Chester, a husband and wife team, who left their jobs in Los Angeles to become farmers and pursue their dream vision of starting Apricot Lane Farms in 2011. Located 40 miles north of Los Angeles, the farm is dedicated to the mission of creating a well-balanced eco-system and rich soils that produce nutrient-dense foods while treating the environment and the animals with respect.
Apricot Lane farm residents include pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, guinea hens, horses, highland cattle, and one brown swiss dairy cow named “Maggie.” Many of which, you will meet in the BIGGEST LITTLE FARM. The land consists of Biodynamic Certified avocado and lemon orchards, a vegetable garden, pastures, and over 75 varieties of stone fruit.
Practices on the farm
Our Practices
Of course what farm wouldn’t start with saying, “We are focused on producing deliciously tasting foods.”? The real difference in how our foods taste starts with the health of our soil. It is here in the minerals of the soil that flavor is enhanced and, most importantly, the nutrient-density of the food is built. Nutrient-rich foods are the critical element of the food world that most conventional farming practices have unintentionally left behind.
In growing our food we refuse to compromise the health of the land, its wildlife, our farm crew or the humane treatment of our livestock. How does a farm go about achieving all of these idealistic goals?
The farm is treated as a micro-ecosystem managed through methods best described as biomimicry mimicking the biological balance found in our earth’s ecosystem allows for a less destructive and healthier farm. In fact, the methods enhance the land, wildlife habitat, and the life of those who work it and the food it grows. We do all of this through managing our biodiversity and applying regenerative soil farming methods.
We use regenerative soil methods that cycle the nutrients, to feed the plants, inform the flavors, and heal the environment. Keeping our soils covered with grasses and legumes feeds the microbes, holds in moisture and, as an added bonus, sequesters atmospheric carbon which heals the environment. The foods raised and grown on our farm are nurtured without the use of pesticides, soy, hormones or other chemical inputs. The animals live on wide-open pastures full of grass and are humanely treated.
We believe in transparency of our farming operation. If the information you are looking for cannot be found here, send any questions about our farm to info@apricotlanefarms.com.
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John Chester shares the personal journey that transformed a couple of big-city foodies into progressive farmers in this inspirational doc.
Interview With ‘The Biggest Little Farm’ Director John Chester
“John Chester graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 1990 and is the great grandson of the late Dr. Francis Townsend. He grew up on Talbot Street in Ocean City as a young boy and moved to West Ocean City in his teen years. During his early 20s, he worked on different farms in Berlin before moving to California. He has won five Emmy Award for short films in the directing, writing and cinematography categories. In 2006, his biggest break came with his primetime docu-series on A&E called Random 1, which led to the documentary “Lost in Woonsocket” and later “Rock Prophecies,” which followed the life of legendary rock photographer Robert Knight. The father and husband is also a published children’s book author. He’s a farmer, too. He wears a lot of hats literally and figuratively.
It’s his life on Apricot Lane Farms in California that is the subject of his “The Biggest Little Farm,” which premiered to rave reviews at the 2018 Telluride Film Festival as well as this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It has been celebrated with an ocean of positive media reviews as well as prestigious awards on the film festival circuit, including Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival and Middleburg Film Festival.”
