"Working with these materials and these forces causes you to come up against their complete indifference to what humans want to do to them."
Amidst towering trees, mist dappled fields and dozens of rusted old pickup trucks, 65 year-old Henry Verschuur has carved out a kingdom. On a small island off Canada’s West Coast, three ferries from the mainland, and three kilometres down a rough dirt driveway sits Blue Jay Lake Farm: a ramshackle rural haven unlike anywhere else in the world.
Over the last ten years, the reclusive farmer has opened his remote property up to a burgeoning generation of young do-it-yourself homesteaders who have chosen a rustic, off-grid existence in response to the pressing global problems of over-consumption, disconnection, and waste.
Living off-the-grid and off-of-the-land, growing all their own food, and re-purposing society’s castoffs for their own weird and wonderful uses, this colourful gang of outcasts have carved out a community from a once desolate clear-cut.
But when you combine 100 chickens, 10 cows, 8 ducks, 6 goats, home-made electricity, hand-built tiny homes, wood heat, questionable septic systems, a couple of free-range children and one anxious farmer ...we quickly learn that life among ‘The Farmily’ can be far from idyllic:
When Henry learns of a cancer diagnosis, he is forced to face his deep rooted anxieties around his troubled past and his uncertain future.
Idealistic ‘bush punks’ Max and Heidi try to balance lifestyle, politics and their far-away families, while engaging with a looming uncertainty around the future of the planet.
Young parents Sam and Anne struggle with raising two children in a one-room cabin, while working to find happiness and a modest living as market gardeners.
Framed by the ebb and flow of the seasons, these five stories are intertwined with the cycles of growth and decay that permeate the challenging landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.
Filmed over the course of two years, entirely off-the-grid by long-time farm resident Morgan Tams, 'Green Valley' is an intimate and authentic portrait of a community on the fringes - told by one of their own.
At a time when audiences are questioning how 20th century “progress” has failed our environment and society, this tender and bracingly honest film offers a glimpse of a possible alternative - without offering any easy answers.
At times humorous, enlightening and heartbreaking, 'Green Valley' is a timely exploration of the ingenuity, sacrifice and sheer beauty that emerges from working together towards a simpler existence in these complex times.
At a time when audiences are questioning how 20th century “progress” has failed our environment and society, this tender and bracingly honest film offers a glimpse of a possible alternative - without offering any easy answers.
At times humorous, enlightening and heartbreaking, 'Green Valley' is a timely exploration of the ingenuity, sacrifice and sheer beauty that emerges from working together towards a simpler existence in these complex times.
83 Minutes // Colour // High Definition Video
This film was produced on the unceded territories of the Klahoose, Homalco and Tla'amin people. The filmmaking team acknowledges that we are merely guests in these territories, and offer deep gratitude and solidarity with the original inhabitants of this beautiful land.