The Biggest Little Farm

The Biggest Little Farm is a 2018 American documentary film, directed by Emmy Award Winning director John Chester.[4][5] The film profiles the life of Chester and his wife Molly as they acquire and establish themselves on Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, California.[6]

The Biggest little Farm
One of US theatrical release posters
Directed byJohn Chester
Produced bySandra Keats
John Chester
Written byJohn Chester
Mark Monroe
StarringJohn Chester
Molly Chester
Music byJeff Beal
CinematographyJohn Chester
Benji Lanpher
Mallory Cunningham
Chris Martin
Kyle Romanek
Edited byAmy Overbeck
Production
company
FarmLore Films
Distributed by
  • Neon
    (USA)
  • Le Pacte
    (France)
  • Prokino
    (Germany, Switzerland)
  • Madman Entertainment
    (Australia, New Zealand)
  • Cinemien
    (Benelux)
Release date
  • August 28, 2018 (2018-08-28) (Telluride)[1]
  • May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) (United States)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5 million[2][3]

The film premiered on September 1, 2018 at the Telluride Film Festival.[7] It had its second screening at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named second runner-up for the People's Choice Award: Documentaries.[8] It was selected as the Opening Night film at Doc NYC in November 2018.[9] The film was screened as part of the Spotlight Section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. It also screened at the 29th New Orleans Film Festival on October 24, 2018.[10]

The film was acquired for theatrical distribution by the independent film company Neon,[6] and was released on May 10, 2019 in Los Angeles and New York. The film expanded into Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington D.C on May 17 and additional markets throughout May and June. The film has been acquired by The Exchange for international distribution.[11]

Synopsis

In 2010, married couple Molly and John Chester decide to leave their old lives in Los Angeles behind and purchase an abandoned, 200-acre farm in Moorpark, California. Rechristening it "Apricot Lane Farms", the couple spends the next seven years transforming the arid landscape into a fully functional farm and biodiverse habitat for neighboring flora and fauna. They face hardship as the difficulties of keeping a farm running mount up, culminating in frustration and anger, but also happiness at their harmonious relationship with nature.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 75 reviews with an average rating of 7.34/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Uplifting, educational, and entertaining, The Biggest Little Farm is an environmental advocacy documentary with a satisfying side dish of hope for the future."[12] On Metacritic, it holds a 74/100 score (indicating "generally favorable reviews") based on 25 critics.[13]

In his Variety review of the film, Peter DeBruge noted that it "feel[s] like fresh air for the soul.",[14] and New York Times critic Glenn Kenny wrote "it may also revive your wonder at the weird but ultimately awe-inspiring ways in which humans can help nature do its work".[15] Additionally, The Los Angeles Times's Robert Abele wrote that the film is a "lush tour of transformed land and photogenic fauna, is so appealing as a chronicle of dedicated do-gooders who actually did good (and shot every frame of it). [...] Watching the Chesters fight past disillusionment to learn the real lessons of harvesting in communion with nature is what gives the movie its rousing, illuminating power."[16]

On December 4, 2019, the film's composer, Jeff Beal, conducted the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, performing his score live to picture at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles.

Awards and nominations

A list of nominations and awards the film has received is as follows:

References
  1. "Telluride Film Review: ‘The Biggest Little Farm’". Variety, September 1, 2018.
  2. "The Biggest Little Farm (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  3. "The Biggest Little Farm (2019)". The Numbers. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  4. "'The Biggest Little Farm': Film Review | Telluride 2018". The Hollywood Reporter, September 9, 2018.
  5. Hipes, Patrick (28 April 2018). "Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards: 'Bold And The Beautiful', 'Sesame Street' Top Winners".
  6. "Toronto: Neon Lands Documentary ‘The Biggest Little Farm’". Variety, September 11, 2018.
  7. "Toronto: Neon Takes 'The Biggest Little Farm' Doc for North America". The Hollywood Reporter, September 11, 2018.
  8. "'Green Book' boosts awards season prospects with TIFF audience award win". Screen Daily, September 16, 2018.
  9. "The Biggest Little Farm announced as the 2018 Opening Night Film!".
  10. "The Biggest Little Farm | New Orleans Film Society". neworleansfilmsociety.org. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  11. Kay, Jeremy (2019-01-17). "'The Biggest Little Farm' lands at The Exchange for international, separately scores key deals (exclusive)". Screen.
  12. "The Biggest Little Farm (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  13. "The Biggest Little Farm". metacritic.com. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  14. Debruge, Peter. "Telluride Film Review: 'The Biggest Little Farm'". Variety.
  15. Kenny, Glenn. "'The Biggest Little Farm' Review: The Pleasures of D.I.Y. Agriculture".
  16. (subscription required)Abele, Robert. "Review: 'The Biggest Little Farm' is a winning doc about a couple's agricultural dream".
  17. "30th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces Award Winners - Palm Springs International Film Festival". www.psfilmfest.org.
  18. "Announcing the TIFF '18 Award Winners". TIFF.
  19. "2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE WINS FESTIVAL FAVORITE AWARD". www.sundance.org. 5 February 2019.
  20. "Announcing AFI FEST 2018 Audience and Jury Award Winners".
  21. "2019 Awards – BIFF – Boulder International Film Festival".
  22. "MVFF41 AUDIENCE FAVOURITES – Mill Valley Film Festival". www.mvff.com.
  23. "HIFF 2018 Awards Announced". hamptonsfilmfest.org.
  24. "GREEN BOOK and BIGGEST LITTLE FARM Win Audience Awards at Middleburg Film Festival". VIMOOZ. 22 October 2018.
  25. "Annapolis Film Festival - Home". Annapolis Film Festival.
  26. "2019 Festival Award Winners". Sedona International Film Festival.
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