The Blood, Sweat and Tears In Every Bottle of Wine
Local Filmmaker Presents New Winemaking Documentary at Sonoma International Film Festival
Sonoma, CA (March 29, 2012) – The 15th annual Sonoma International Film Festival, April 11-15, debuts Harvest, a feature-length documentary following the trials and tribulations of five Sonoma County family wineries, an amateur home winemaker and an all-female picking crew from Mexico during one of Sonoma’s most difficult harvests.
Directed by John Beck and shot entirely in Sonoma County, Harvest documents the harvest of 2011 in Sonoma County. There is no swirling, no sniffing, no sipping or quaffing. This is all about back-breaking manual labor and night picks at 2 a.m. with only tiny headlamps to light the way.
Director Beck (Worst in Show) is not interested in large corporate wineries. Instead, he casts his intimate DSLR lens on salt-of-the-earth, tight-knit family wineries – Robledo, Rafanelli, Foppiano, Harvest Moon and Robert Hunter – home-grown winemaker Bob Bennett of Windsor and his label Bennett Ridge Vineyards, and field workers who are the backbone of the wine industry.
Along the way, we meet Reynaldo Robledo, the first migrant worker to own his own winery. There’s Wayne Rogers, who loses 80 percent of his zinfandel crop to wild pigs. And Rudy Rodriquez, who in his early 70s, has devoted more than half his life to Robert Hunter Winery. Women of the rare all-female picking crew from Michoacan and Oaxaca, Mexico, share their stories of sacrifice in coming to Sonoma County to do work most Americans wouldn’t even consider.
The narrative follows the harvest through its near-ruination by untimely rainstorms and widespread grape rot. Reynaldo Robledo and Dave Rafanelli call it “the worst harvest” in their lifetimes. Some lose more than 50 percent of their crop.
With an original soundtrack by musicians Joni Davis and Steve Pile, Harvest is a rare, intimate glimpse of the wine-grape harvest as never before captured on film.
Harvest premieres at 5 p.m. Friday, April 13 at Sebastiani Winery, 389 4th Street East, Sonoma. Attendees to the Friday night screening will enjoy a wine tasting poured by the wineries from the film.
Contact: For DVD screeners and interviews, contact director John Beck at: john@sideshowvideo.com or 707-280-8014
Sponsors
The Sonoma International Film Society and Film Festival rely on the generous support of sponsors and corporate partnerships to help fund the year-round film society – a cultural asset important to Sonoma, its youth and to independent filmmakers everywhere. Special thanks to this year’s committed sponsors and partners: (Premiere) AT & T, Comcast, Mia’s Kitchen & TOG Wines, and Chateau St. Jean; (Major) Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, MacArthur Place Inn & Spa, New Belgium Brewing Company, Sonoma County Tourism Bureau and Wine Country Party & Events; (Supporting) Luna Fest, TV 5 Monde, Vode Lighting and Wild Fire Web. Primary winery partners are Buena Vista Winery, Don Sebastiani & Sons, and Sebastiani Vineyards. Transportation partner: Pure Luxury Transportation.
About the Sonoma International Film Festival
A destination film festival located in the heart of wine country, the Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF) is uniquely positioned to be a lively celebration of film, food and wine. An annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts and independent filmmakers, Sonoma is one of the most scenic and epicurean places to experience the art of film. Founded in 1997 as the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, SIFF is now a five-day international event that takes pride in showcasing independent films.
SIFF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Festival supports the Sonoma Valley High School Media Arts Program established over a decade ago by the Sonoma Film Society.
The 15th annual Sonoma International Film Festival will take place from April 11 to 15, 2012. For more information, contact:
(707) 933-2600
SonomaFilmFest.org
facebook.com/sonomafilmfestival
twitter.com/sonomafilmfest
Media Contact
Brooke Conner Sevenau
Studio Seven PR
707-934-5631
brooke@studiosevenpr.com
http://studiosevenpr.com/
MEDIA ACCREDITATION: http://www.sonomafilmfest.org/media-accreditation-form
