Director, producer and Sun Valley native Taggert Siegel vicariously visits the valley through his documentary next week.
Siegel's film "The Real Dirt on Farmer John" joins the International Documentary Association's Ninth Annual DocuWeek Theatrical Documentary Showcase showing noon Monday, Oct. 17, at the Magic Lantern in Ketchum.
Siegel's film shows as part of the three-week documentary festival. The showcase this week features "The Real Dirt on Farmer John," along with "39 Pounds of Love," "Family Portrait," "God sleeps in Rwanda," "Positively Naked," rotating at noon and 2 p.m. showings Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 17 and 18. The film festival continues until Thursday, Oct. 20.
Born in the Sun Valley Lodge, Siegel holds close ties to the community. Over the summer, he reinforced his connection to the area, marrying his Sun Valley sweetheart Jenny Wilmer in the valley.
"The Real Dirt on Farmer John" diverges from his Idaho experience, with a focus on John Peterson, a Midwestern farmer.
"My roots in Idaho come from being in nature and in the mountains the whole time. In the Midwest, there was this connection with farm life I had never seen," he said.
As a 20-year-old college student, Siegel made his inaugural film "Affliction" on Peterson's farm. In 1980, Siegel cast Peterson as an actor with his farm animals as the backdrop for the film.
`Two years later, Siegel returned to make "Bitter Harvest," his first documentary work. His venture into the documentary genre captured the loss of the American family farm, with a focus on Peterson's financial crisis.
Siegel made his way back to farm in 1987, casting Peterson as a crazy farmer in a fictional film.
The 25-year relationship serves as the backbone for Siegel's most recent documentary—"The Real Dirt on Farmer Brown."
The film depicts Peterson's experience on his family's Illinois farm. Combined with home movie footage from Peterson's mother Anna Peterson, the documentary reveals agricultural life and personal emotions.
"I was able to piece together all of the archival footage with the footage I have had over the last 25 years, to create this epic portrayal of this American farmer," Siegel said.
The piece traces 55 years of Peterson's life, centering on the rise, fall and resurrection of the farm. The years bring a haven for artistic expression in the 1970s, a financial nadir in the 1980s, followed by resurgence. The upswing comes after venturing into organic farming and establishing a Community Supported Agriculture farm.
"He went from a chemical farm to a completely organic one," Siegel said.
Peterson's character lends to the heart of the film.
"He is the wildcard in his community," Siegel said.
A flamboyant, charismatic man, Peterson's character lends to the spotlight.
"He does things in very unorthodox ways," Siegel said. "To me it is a very powerful melding of tradition in an unorthodox way."
The film is slated for major release in January 2006.
The Magic Lantern screens the story of eccentric farmer John Peterson on Monday.
