The story and shooting schedule followed a year in the local marijuana agricultural cycle, from planting to harvest, so now that harvest is over and winter rains have set in, production—that is, actual on-the-ground filming—is pretty much completed. I need to do some winter wrap-up shots, but that’s it until next spring when I’ll shoot the beginnings of the new season. The cycle of planting, harvest and planting again is the hallmark of all agricultural societies, whether it is corn or apples or cannabis, so it is only appropriate that the film ends with a new beginning. Or maybe it will begin with the ending.
Either way, the next step is to get a trailer made and shop the project around to broadcasters and potential funders to raise money for the post-production process—editing, sound design, color correction and so on. With a full budget that will allow top-notch people to be hired, the film can potentially be done by mid-summer.
“How do you plan to distribute it? And when can I see it?”
Our tentative goal is the late-September 2011 Sundance Film Festival submission deadline. Should it be accepted, it would premier in late-January 2012.
Alternately, we may choose to self-distribute via the Web simultaneous with any broadcasts, festivals and screenings arranged by fans in any city where someone wants to organize it. This is an emerging model for independent filmmakers and one we’ll evaluate once the film is done.
“Will it be done in time for the 2012 election cycle?”
This indie-distro model has the advantage of allowing the film to be screened widely the minute it is completed, with no concern for festival premier requirements or delayed broadcaster schedules. It is a near-certainty that another recreational-use marijuana legalization measure will be on the 2012 ballot in California and maybe other states as well. This documentary can play a very important role in the election campaign by reframing the story of marijuana production, changing the misguided public perception of pot farmers as rich, greedy hippies rolling in cash or scary, gun-toting gangsters who are a danger to the community.
The farmers shown in ONE GOOD YEAR, like most of the small-scale pot farmers across California, are neither. They are rural people who care about the land, help each other out, support their community and live very modest lifestyles in a place where there is no other work to be found. Showing marijuana as a crop like any other takes the scariness factor out of it. A pot farm is just a farm, not a dangerous drug manufacturing facility against which the community must be protected.
“Oh! That sounds cool! How can I help?”
Right now, funding is the number one priority so that a top-notch editor can be hired. Check out the Community Supported Filmmaking page for ways to contribute. Do you know any wealthy, pro-pot, documentary-loving philanthropists you could tell about the film? Hollywood loves its weed, anyone with movie star or producer connections?
To make donating easier, we’ll soon have a Google Checkout or Paypal button on the front page. We’ll also be doing a Kickstarter.com campaign, making it easy to contribute one dollar or a thousand with a click. We’re also pursuing non-profit fiscal sponsorship, so any contributions will soon be tax-deductible. If you’re interested in any of these options, please sign up on our email list. We’ll be sending out an announcement once these links are up on this site.
Oh, and as we begin the editing process, we’ll be putting a trailer up on the site along with some sample scenes and clips. Be patient, that is coming!
