‘Common Ground’ soil-centric documentary premieres in Atlanta

Community leaders gathered at the Tara Theater on Dec. 4 for the Atlanta premiere of the 2023 documentary “Common Ground,” a sequel to the 2020 documentary “Kiss the Ground” focused on the regenerative agriculture movement. 

The film, directed by couple Josh Tickell and Rebecca Tickell, takes on the farming and agricultural industry through an environmentally-conscious lens, heralding “regenerative agriculture” as the solution to problems in the food system.

Regenerative agriculture is a practice that follows indigenous farming techniques, according to the film, with a focus on regenerating the soil through six key principles: understanding context, minimizing ground disturbance and chemicals, establishing a “living root,” providing soil armor through cover crops, integrating animal grazing and enhancing biodiversity. 

In the film, regenerative agriculture is on display thanks to a group of farmers who adopted the practice to major success. Their farms were set against a backdrop of corruption, lobbying and corporate interference in the agriculture industry from major companies like Monsanto. The movie labeled corporate involvement as part of a circle of profit, where pesticide manufacturers make farmers sick and indebted to profit off medical needs. 

The directors said the first film, “Kiss the Ground,” inspired the United States Department of Agriculture to put $20 billion towards soil health. With the sequel, they aimed to “unveil a dark web of money, power and politics behind our broken food system.” 

Several major celebrities contributed to the film, with Laura Dern, Rosario Dawson, Jason Momoa, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson and Ian Somerhalder narrating sections of the documentary.

Tara Theater owner Chris Escobar decided to host the screening after Laura Turner Seydel, daughter of CNN and TBS founder Ted Turner and environmental advocate, reached out. She wanted Atlanta to do a screening, and Escobar agreed. During the panel, Escobar agreed to give the documentary a screening run at the Tara starting Dec. 15. 

The film was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Seydel, featuring “Common Ground” executive producer Ryland Engleheart, narrator and star Rosario Dawson, Regenified chief marketing officer Kristine Root, and regenerative Georgia farmers Will Harris and Wayne Swanson. 

Each panelist spoke on their connection to the film and fielded questions from audience members. Each came from some environmentalist or agricultural background. Some, like Dawson, didn’t grow up on a farm – rather, Dawson was raised in Coney Island, where she saw the beauty of community gardens. Executive producer Engleheart said he was inspired by an environmentalist panel he saw 12 years ago. Panelists were asked if human beings could sustain life on Earth, and five out of six people said no. 

“The sixth basically articulated in five minutes what we saw in the film, and it was a spiritual awakening,” Engleheart said. From there, he co-founded Kiss the Ground, the nonprofit behind the first documentary on regenerative agriculture. 

Other panelists like Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures, have been in the industry for decades. The Bluffton, Ga., farm was founded by his great-grandfather and was originally run in a way that “focused on the land.” Over the years, the farm changed to an industrialized, commoditized and centralized monocultural cattle operation. 

“I ran the farm that way for 20 years, and financially, we did fine, but in the mid-’90s, for many reasons, I grew disillusioned with that system,” Harris said. 

He chose to transition his 5,000-acre farm to a fully regenerative system with 10 species of livestock, eggs, organic vegetables and honey. 

While Harris is an avid supporter of regenerative agriculture, he acknowledged that some farmers may be hesitant to adopt it. Many have been taught industrial monocultural production across generations and in schooling, and Harris said it’s tough for them to change their whole farming method. 

“They, like me, are the second or third generation into an industry of monocultural production, and they don’t see anything wrong with it,” Harris said. “And I don’t blame them.” 

Major influences like “big food, big agriculture, and big technology” are part of the problem, according to Harris. He also said many farmers are financially comfortable as is. 

The documentary painted regenerative agriculture not just as environmentally beneficial but as a more profitable option for farmers. Harris thinks that profitability is overstated.

“My farm is profitable, but it’s marginally profitable,” Harris said. 

To encourage financial success, people like Root are aiming to add a “Regenified” seal on certain products that meet the standard for regenerative farming practices. So far, Bourbon company Maker’s Mark has pledged to be 100 percent regenerative by 2025 and already made its first 84 percent regenerative whiskey barrel. Other companies like King Arthur Baking have released fully regenerative products.  

Corporate buy-in is one need, but Metro Atlanta farmers see the other obstacles coming from two key places: education and vanity. Swanson works on educating smaller farmers in the area on regenerative farming practices. 

Meanwhile, Metro Atlanta farmer Wayne Swanson sees the other obstacles coming from two key places: education and vanity. He founded Swanson Family Farms, where he owns and operates a 32-acre farm south of Atlanta. Alongside his farming, Swanson works with small-scale farmers with typically 100 acres of land or less. 

“I tell my clients, I don’t want you to step in the landmines I stepped in,” Swanson said. 

However, he feels many people with no experience in the industry think they know better than the experts and approach food with a lack of appreciation. 

“We’ve been so far removed from food in America that we just take it for granted,” Swanson said. 

But millions of Americans still struggle to access fresh produce, much less sustainably sourced produce. The film talks extensively about farmer costs, but with over 6,500 food deserts in the United States, many people don’t have access to affordable and nutritious food.

Swanson argued all Americans have access to the dirt beneath their feet, pushing for people to garden, while Root looked to affordability. The marketing officer said regeneratively grown food may cost more in the short term but will be cheaper in the long run. 

As a farmer, though, Harris feels his work in the fields is more than enough. 

“We’ve done some pretty heavy lifting and figuring out how to grow the way we do it,” Harris said. “Somebody else can figure out how to make it cheap.” 

The Tara Theater will show “Common Ground” on Dec. 15 and Dec. 16 at 7:00 p.m. The theater team is coordinating panels for each screening. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

Photos from December 2023 screening of “Common Ground” by Kelly Jordan