Taggart & John honored at Roger Ebert’s 2008 Film Festival
Collective Eye co-founder and Director, Taggart Siegel joined John Peterson of The Real Dirt on Farmer John as guests and speakers at Roger Ebert’s 2008 Film Festival. Roger shows 12 film each year and Collective Eye was thrilled to learn that The Real Dirt on Farmer John was chosen to be showcased this year.
John and Taggart appeared on stage after the screening of The Real Dirt on Farmer John and spent about an hour discussing the film. They were joined by Ang Lee, Paul Schrader, Christine Lahti and other well known people in the film industry. The audience was so moved, they gave John and Taggart a standing ovation and many people were in tears as a result of the emotional impact of this wonderful film. The Real Dirt on Farmer John seems to elicit very strong and positive emotions wherever it screens. The Collective Eye Hive is very happy for our lads and the well-deserved recognition they received at this film festival.
Bee Journal from Taggart Siegel ~ New Zealand
I’ve been very fortunate meeting amazing beekeepers in the South Island of New Zealand. Many of the them come from a long line of beekeepers that go back over a hundred years. Some of the best organic honey comes out of New Zealand, especially the Manuka honey that is medicinally beneficial.New Zealand is a land where Colony Collapse Disorder hasn’t occurred, where bees are still thriving.
Bees in America are under siege with pesticides, genetically engineered crops and over breeding the queen. Bees are a barometer species and are telling us something important. All around the world Beekeepers are helping maintain healthy ecosystems with the millions of bees pollinating plants. Without the bees, future generations will not be able to bite into a delicious apple, or smell the aroma of a spring flower.
My first stop on my bee journey was Kakoura, a beautiful coastal, mountainous area where some of the best whale watching occurs in the world. Nick, a gracious certified organic beekeeper from Mountain Honey, took me in his bee truck up a Maunka forested valley to check his hives and the honey flow. It was an amazing sensation being around thousands of bees swarming around you and not having to worry (with a bee suit) about being stung.
The next day I filmed Warren Thompson, a beekeeper and sculptor. Warren says, “Art is a spiritual activity and bees really help feed that. The art of bee keeping becomes an art, not the money…It’s wonderful the way bees work with wax. Bees are a living medium that becomes a metaphor for me working with art.”Warren lives in the the high country of Hanmer Hotsprings with his wife, Elisabeth and their three daughters. Elisabeth says, “Warren’s bee hives are all healthy and they’re all well looked after. We have little dances around the bee hives when the Maunka honey comes in.” … Continue Reading