Filmmaking as a Practice in Critical Theory

This multi-part project pulls together all my fields of research under the umbrella of my ultimate interest– agriculture and its future. The film portion focuses on regional and seasonal agriculture in Southern Germany near Lake Constance. It focuses on several families who do small-scale agricultural production utilizing various methods but ultimately touches on our current disconnect from our food systems and nature. The written portion found in this document focuses on filmmaking as a practice in critical theory, a tool to visualize what written theory cannot. Filming happened over a three-week period in Summer 2021for the portion shot in Germany. The research for the written portion on film involved watching all available films from Fredi M. Murer and Wim Wenders, choosing a few from each and detailing the involvement of theory. I was not a filmmaker when I began this project, so much of this endeavor has been trial and error with many changes being made to the scope and intention of the project over the last year. I see this as only the beginning and intend to make a longer version of this film with more interviews, including some here in the US, to show the dichotomy between capitalist systems and the growing disconnect from our food. The longer version will be more essayistic in style, with my voice being more apparent as I grow in my filmmaking abilities. For now, though, this version of the project is a culmination of all my areas of interest and doesn't seek to prove anything, rather hopes to impact the way people think about film and agriculture.