“Look & See” is a cinematic portrait of Wendell Berry – farmer, activist, and undoubtedly one of America’s most significant living writers. Often called “a prophet for rural America,” Berry has fostered a lifelong relationship with the land and community of Henry County, Kentucky. Henry County, like many rural communities across America, has become a place of quiet ideological struggle. In the span of a generation, the agrarian virtues of simplicity, land stewardship, sustainable farming, local economies and rootedness to place have been replaced by a capital-intensive model of industrial agriculture characterized by machine labor, chemical fertilizers, soil erosion and debt – all of which have frayed the fabric of rural communities.

Filmmaker Laura Dunn skillfully weaves Berry’s poetic and prophetic words with gorgeous cinematography and the testimonies of his family and neighbors, all of whom are deeply affected by the erosion of their agrarian way of life. Philip Taylor will lead a post-screening discussion on the film.

About the Speaker:

Philip Taylor is the co-founder of Mad Agriculture, a sponsored project formed to create a culture that loves and restores our relationship with the land, sea and one another. He is also a fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder where he teaches “The Future of Food” in the Masters of the Environment Food Systems program.