CAN YOU DIG THIS follows the inspirational journeys of four unlikely gardeners, discovering what happens when they put their hands in the soil. This is not a story of science and economics. This is a story of the human spirit, inspiring people everywhere to pick up their shovels and “plant some shit.”
Click through for my interview with documentary filmmaker Delila Vallot.
Interview with filmmaker Delila Vallot:
I started out our conversation about Delila's documentary feature debut by asking about what caused her to jump into this genre.
The film does a great job of introducing the key figures in the urban farming community.
The film stars a cross-section of urban gardeners, including Ron Finley, the “Gangster Gardener” whose unexpected tactics have made him one of LA’s most widely known activists, 23-year-old former gang member, Mychael “Spicey” Evans and 21-year-old orphan Kenya Johnson who find hope at the Compton Community Garden, eight-year-old Quimonie Lewis who oversees a garden at her home in the projects, and former inmate Hosea Smith whose garden feeds his fellow residents at a halfway house. From Can You Dig This website.
During the filming process, Spicey was arrested and put in jail. I asked Delila about that harrowing experience and the impact it had on the documentary.
I asked Delila about becoming fully connected to her subjects and what was going on in their lives today.
It's one thing to be able to befriend people it's something entirely different to get those same people to go on camera. Delila explained the lengthy process of befriending and filmmaking her subjects.
I asked Delila about how much footage the team gathered and what it was like working with her editor Asako Ushio and supervising editor Billy McMillin.
The documentary has one element that stands out pretty strongly, the music. The doc is not only Executive Produced by John Legend, he also has a song on the soundtrack, but the really awesome thing is that TV On The Radio's David Sitek has composed an amazing score for the film. I asked Delila about the incredible music in the film.
I ended our wonderful chat by asking Delila if she has been bitten by the documentary bug.
CAN YOU DIG THIS is available NOW on the following VOD platforms: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Dish Network, DirectTV, Cox, Charter on Demand, Verizon, Suddenlink, Mediacom, Insight, Wow!, RCN, EastLinkTV, Rogers on Demand, Shaw, Telus, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, Amazon, Microsoft, Playstation and Hoopla.
