John Murray/ 2015/ 74 min/ Food & Agriculture
Film Description: A Farmer’s Road is a documentary about changing the American food system one meal at a time. At the heart of A Farmer’s Road is a story of how two PhD soil scientists traded the security of academic tenure at a major research university for the relentless challenges and economic uncertainty of operating a Grade A goat dairy and farmstead creamery in central Illinois.
The making of A Farmer’s Road began unknowingly in 2010. Murray’s sister-in-law, a long-time resident of Urbana-Champaign, IL invited his wife and himself to Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery (PFFC) for a “dinner on the farm.” Murray was told the evening would be long and enjoyable with multiple courses of delicious small plates made from ingredients sourced locally, many of them from the farm itself, and all in the spirit of the slow food movement. What he experienced, though, was much more than that. In fact, the four hours he spent on the farm that evening initiated a five-year journey doing something he had never done before – producing and directing a documentary.
Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery continues to grow without taking government subsidies, has created jobs on the farm, and works tirelessly on their mission of sustainable agriculture and the slow food movement. Murray believes this is important stuff. Murray hopes by highlighting the rewards and challenges of farm to fork agriculture in the midst of large-scale commodity agribusiness, the film underscores the vulnerability of farming on the urban-rural fringe and serves to provide a sense of urgency for change.
Director Bio: John Murray is a education and media arts professional specializing in academic leadership, sound design, documentary film, and the management of people and productions in creative environments.
One of six founding faculty at Tribeca Flashpoint College in 2007, Mr. Murray spearheaded development of the intensive Recording Arts program from the ground up, focusing on professionalism, workflow, theory, craft, and wide-ranging aesthetics. Mr. Murray served as Chair of the Recording Arts Department from inception until 2010, when he accepted the Associate Academic Dean position. In 2013, he was promoted to Dean of Faculty managing the performance of 50+ instructors across 8 degree programs.
Mr. Murray has worked professionally in film and video sound postproduction since 1983 designing and mixing award-winning soundtracks for features, documentaries, shorts, and advertising. He began his career at News/Sports Radio Network and then Orange Productions in Milwaukee. In 1984, Mr. Murray was tapped to start a sound for picture production and mixing suite at the legendary Fifth Floor Recording Studios in Cincinnati. He then moved on to Sound Images in 1987, where he was the recipient of numerous ADDY awards for radio and television audio production.
While continuing his career in postsecondary education, focusing on immersive, project-based learning in collaborative environments, Mr. Murray’s further interests turned to social impact documentaries. In 2010, he created ECHO 61 and began a five-year project producing and directing A Farmer’s Road, a documentary about sustainable, small-scale artisanal farming and locally-sourced food systems.
In 2012, Mr. Murray became an executive board member of Good Pitch Chicago, a 501(c)3 organization in partnership with BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program devoted to producing Good Pitch events in Chicago, which bring together documentary filmmakers with foundations, NGOs, campaigners, philanthropists, policy makers, brands, and media around leading social and environmental issues.