The Garden - by Scott Hamilton Kennedy (DVD) [New]

Region 0 - NTSC DVD

It is said that many things grow in a garden that were never sown there. Such is the focus of Scott Hamilton Kennedys THE GARDEN, the Oscar-nominated documentary about race, class, politics, and produce in Los Angeles. As the film opens, we are introduced to the astounding South Central Community Garden. The 14-acre plot was acquired by the city of Los Angeles in the wake of the 1992 riots, and transformed by the local Latino community into an urban farming oasis that fed families and business. Ten years later, the farmers learn that the city has sold the land back to original owner Ralph Horowitz, who intends to build warehouses on the property. After catching a whiff of political and financial opportunism in the deal, the farmers--including self-appointed leaders Rufina Juarez and Tezozomoc--sue to stop the eviction. The resulting legal battle pitches them against such community and political heavyweights as Juanita Tate and Jan Perry, and generates support from celebrity activists like Daryl Hannah and Danny Glover. And as charges of corruption, racism, and anti-Semitism elevate tensions between the farmers and Horowitz, and between the Latino and African-American communities, seeds of dissent are sown that could tear the Garden from within. While Kennedys sympathies reside with the South Central Community Garden, THE GARDEN offers a riveting chronicle of the complex motivations and unintended consequences that grow from even the best of intentions.