Farmsteaders (2018)

Farmsteaders: Directed by Shaena Mallett. Clear-eyed and intimate, Farmsteaders follows Nick Nolan and his young family on a journey to resurrect his late grandfather’s dairy farm as agriculture moves toward large-scale farming. A study of place and persistence, Farmsteaders points an honest and tender lens at everyday life in rural America, offering an unexpected voice for a forsaken people: those who grow the food that sustains us.

“This short documentary shot over 5 years tells of a family struggling to survive on their small family farm. The work required of them is incredible and they seem to be only one small catastrophe from having it all crash down. Why would they do this? Nick Nolan loves the land he inherited from his family and is bound to it by the memories of his childhood. (Having been reared on a 90 acre farm like this one, I share those memories.) His spouse has boughten into the dream as well, despite one blow to their ability to survive after another. Their four kids are adorable and seem to be growing up with the same solid, hard values as did Nick.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe photography is exquisite and Director Shaena Mallett has successfully captured the rhythms and seasons of life on this hardscrabble farm. My only frustration is the lack of any final outcome… which is, I suppose, yet to be determined. God bless our small family farms… the few that still exist.”