'Hearth and Harvest' hits home

published in The Daily Item, Thursday, September 24, 2009.

LEWISBURG — The Campus Theatre will kick off its seventh annual Documentary Film Festival with a documentary that has strong ties to the local community.

“Hearth and Harvest,” a documentary by WVIA, will have its world premiere and serve as the festival’s opening film on Friday at 8 p.m. The theater is located on Market Street in downtown Lewisburg.

The documentary showcases a year in the lives of Pennsylvania farmers. The film begins with the Farm Show in Harrisburg, which is held in January, and concludes with the end of harvest season.

The film explores the history and heritage of Pennsylvania farmers as well as the issues and challenges they currently face.

Mary Bannon, executive director of the Campus Theatre, said the theater chose “Hearth and Harvest” to kick off the 2009 Documentary Festival because “it’s such an important film for our community.”

Today, there are almost 60,000 farms in Pennsylvania, occupying a quarter of the state’s 28 million acres. Agribusiness is a $45 billion dollar industry, employing more than 2 million people. Ten percent of that revenue comes directly from agriculture. The state ranks fourth in the nation in dairy production, first in mushroom production, hardwood production and Christmas tree farms, and is in the top 10 in the production of four vegetables — pumpkins, sweet corn, snap beans and cantaloupe.

“We live in a farming region, yet many of us don’t understand all of the intricacies of agriculture. This documentary clearly explains what farming is like in this region and does it through the voices of farmers in an enlightening and entertaining way,” Bannon said.

Award-winning director Gregory Matkosky directed the film. He will be in attendance for the premiere and will hold a question and answer session to kick off the film festival.

Matkosky, a 1982 graduate of Penn State University, received his masters of fine arts in cinematography from AFI in 1986. He has directed, produced, photographed and written several public television documentary films for WVIA.

In addition to “Hearth and Home,” the Campus Theatre will present 10 other films during the annual film festival.

“Every year, we strive to bring the most interesting, exciting and provocative documentaries, and this year is no exception,” Bannon said.

Films include “Food Inc.,” which reveals shocking truths about the food industry; “Under Our Skin,” which is a groundbreaking investigation of Lyme’s disease; and one of Bannon’s favorites, “Herb and Dorothy,” which is an amusing story about how a postal clerk and librarian grew an incredible art collection.

The theater is highlighting documentary films because “big Hollywood films make up about 10 percent of the films that are released and, yet, that’s all you’re ever able to see. The Campus Theatre is dedicated to bringing in quality films that not only challenge and stimulate, but entertain as well,” Bannon said.

The documentary film festival begins on Friday with the 8 p.m. showing of “Hearth and Harvest” and runs until Oct. 1. For more information, including a schedule and synopsis of the film festival, visit www.campustheatre.org or call 524-9628.