THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN Q&A with Taggart Siegel and John Peterson

When Taggart Siegel set out to make a documentary about the life of his friend, farmer John Peterson, neither man imagined the success the film would have—dozens of awards at film festivals in the U.S. and abroad—nor its impact on audiences.

Ostensibly the story of how John almost lost his farm, only to see it resurrected through a revolutionary form of community-sustained agriculture, THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN has resonated with audiences due to its subtexts: the importance of persevering against long odds and of being true to yourself.

Inside Indies spoke to Director/Co-producer Taggart Siegel and Farmer John Peterson, the subject of the film, to get the real dirt on how the film changed their lives and impacted the lives of those who have seen it.

Inside Indies: What’s the biggest difference THE REAL DIRT has made so far?

John Peterson: A lot of people have been encouraged to go on and endure their struggles. It’s a film about struggling against impossible odds. The most powerful message of the film is the message of hope and possibility. It’s easy to think that it’s a sermon for organics, but the most powerful thing we’ve gotten from people after screenings is [the feeling that they were given] permission to be where they are at in life…because I’m pretty revealing about who I am in life.

There’s actually a mission statement for the film: One intention was to challenge people’s stereotype of the American farmer; another was to make viewers aware of a community’s power to destroy, and also to restore and rebuild. Another is to cause or inspire people to become more aware of food and farms and farming. What do I eat? What’s my relationship to the food and the soil?

Taggart Siegel: There is an optimistic message about the American soul, and it starts with the soil, tracing the history of the family farm and its resurrection. We’ve had countless people coming up to us after screenings, saying, “This changed my life,” and [they’re not talking] about farming; it’s about struggling against all odds and succeeding. It’s a kind of Rocky story.

ii: How did you meet?

TS: We met 25 years ago. I was going to Beloit College, and was an art and film major. John had a liking for me and started asking these very personal questions. I found it uncomfortable, but then he invited me out to his farm and I went to a party. I saw a world that was extremely different; it was an art and agriculture farm at that point in 1979 or 1980. I made my first film out there, Affliction, which is the footage we included in the longer version of the film. Between John’s mom, John and me, we have footage that spans 50 years. I made a film about him, Bitter Harvest, in 1982, and we made a short fiction film, Amber Days. There were all these projects.

ii: When you were making the film, did you consider the possible impact it might have?

TS: Most of my films have been for television, so I knew it would get on television, but a lifetime goal for me has been to get into theaters. It lifts the film onto another plateau; people recognize it as a different art form. I knew that it could be a limited theatrical release. It was necessary for this to get out in a different way. This is a time in America when documentaries can be theatrically released…I mean, we are living in a heyday for documentaries!

ii: What’s been the reaction of the townspeople in Caledonia?

JP: We had a screening on the farm for some of the people in the film, and I was nervous because it expressed my life and their lives in ways that might make them uncomfortable. But they received it quite well. Later that weekend it screened at the Beloit College homecoming weekend, and the community responded really well to it. When you see how the community was toward me [in the past], it’s not a very flattering picture; I could see that could cause some indignation. But I don’t know if anyone will ever come up to me and say, “I’m really sorry.”

ii: Any personal reaction that’s surprised or touched you?

JP: People who have had their own farms sold will sit there and sob. I don’t know what it is, but there are people who shake and cry afterwards and throw themselves into my arms…I’m not exaggerating. We’ve gotten so many letters and emails from people who say it’s given them the strength to go on. I don’t want to brag or say I’m some extraordinary human being, but I also want to graciously receive them and hear what they have to say.

TS: For me, it’s the audience at screenings: when you’re hearing people react, and laugh, and cry. Often there’s a farmer in the theater who gets to tell his story. We did a screening in Amsterdam, and a couple thousand people saw it there. I wasn’t sure how it would do in Europe, but it tells me that the audience is getting it. There’s something really wonderful that it hits the nerve of the mythology of the farmer. In fact, a woman wrote us a personal letter: “I’m a farmer, and I can’t continue farming, or at least I thought I couldn’t until I saw this. It’s given me strength to continue on.”

ii: What do you think will happen next?

JP: I don’t want to launch a line of Farmer John blowup dolls! (laughs) I don’t want to be commodified and I don’t want to be someone that people think they know from just watching a movie, but I do like the possibility of just contributing to people. Taggart and I just wanted to tell a story…we really didn’t want any proselytizing.

ii: Taggart, what’s your next film?

TS: I want to see the outcome and make a choice out of that strategically. I’m tired of raising money; it took eight or nine years to make this, but part of that was just not having the funding in place. I would love to think that if this film does well, money will flow a little quicker next time. I was thinking of doing a documentary on Al Gore, but it was announced at Sundance that there was one already being done.

I’m also thinking of a fiction film instead of a documentary. The story has to be so powerful for me—like this one—to do a documentary.

Visit the companion site for THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN >>

Find out more about John’s farm operation, Angelic Organics >>

(An Inside Indies exclusive posted March 30, 2007.)

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Q&A with Liz Oakley and Joanna Katz, SENTENCING THE VICTIM >>

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