NOURISHING COMMUNITY
Hearts of Glass, a feature-length documentary, will tell the story of the critical first year of operation of Vertical Harvest, an innovative multi-story greenhouse located in the heart of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In addition to providing a year-round crop of vegetables and fruits to community members, the project was developed to offer consistent, meaningful, fair-paying jobs to Jackson residents with disabilities. There is no other project like this in the world. It combines a vertical farming business, housed in a building specifically constructed for that purpose, with the social good of employing an underserved group in the community.
This high profile, expensive and untested project has faced many challenges, with more to come as it opens its doors to the public in June 2016. Will this hybrid – a vertical greenhouse with a social mission – become a functioning business model transferrable to other communities? Will the lives of a marginalized community be enriched? Will the two women behind the project achieve something amazing? With your support, we can find out.
It’s exciting to step into the unknown with this innovative business. We have rich characters with a lot at stake personally and professionally. Hearts of Glass will feature various points of view – food producers and consumers both inside and outside of Vertical Harvest. We are excited to include the voices of some of the employees with disabilities and their family members. It’s an opportunity to allow some less-visible community members to tell their own stories and raise awareness about an underemployed population.
Heart of Glass will allow us to connect interest groups who, previously, may not have overlapped. For example, folks who are passionate about locally produced sustainable food may know nothing about the need for meaningful employment for individuals with disabilities. This film can deepen existing connections and create new ones.
JenTen Productions and Slow Food in the Tetons, a Jackson non-profit that is a local chapter of Slow Food USA, are teaming up to bring Hearts of Glass to fruition. Slow Food in the Tetons works to grow the Jackson, Wyoming and the surrounding areas’ economies in sustainable food by supporting producers, educating consumers and connecting them together in the spirit of good, clean and fair food. Hearts of Glass supports their mission by highlighting local food production and the relationships between producers and consumers. The film will also touch on the need for education around healthy, sustainable food choices and fair treatment of the individuals who grow our food.
We have worked hard to gather early local support for Heart of Glass and are immensely grateful to our initial donors for their contributions to pre-production and the start of production. The project is being supported through grant funding (Wyoming Humanities Council and the Center of Wonder), and by donations from businesses (First Interstate Bank,Conservation Energy Works, Prugh Real Estate and RE/MAX Obsidian Real Estate) and individuals.
Funds raised through our Seed&Spark campaign will go toward production expenses, specifically, paying crew members like our director of photography, sound recordist and loggers.
Seed&Spark allows us to get beyond the small valley of Jackson Hole and to invite others to participate in Hearts of Glass. Please note that we are also participating in The Untold Story Rally, which puts us in the running for additional funding and distribution!
We have great incentives ranging from shout-outs on social media to a pre-screening dinner at the director’s house. So whether you’re a seed or a beefsteak tomato, we want you to be part of the harvest. We’re striving for sustainability, so we are focusing on incentives items that can be delivered and shared digitally. Because the film is under the fiscal sponsorship of the non-profit Slow Food in the Tetons, US donations are tax-deductible, less the value of goods and services provided to donors. For more information click on the WISHLIST tab.
The film will be produced and directed by Jennifer Tennican /JenTen Productions, LLC. The 2015 JenTen documentary, Far Afield: A Conservation Love Story, was recently accepted for distribution by American Public Television (APT). Wyoming PBS, the presenting station, and public television stations nationwide began airing the program in April 2016. The Stagecoach Bar: An American Crossroads, another JenTen project, was also distributed by American Public Television. Both documentaries have won numerous awards at film festivals throughout the nation and both had sold out premieres at the Center for the Arts in Jackson. Many members of the creative team who worked on one or both of the previous films will return for this project.