Film scheduled for Moses Lake showing
Lind-area farmers Josh Knodel (left) and Matt Miller and the challenges they face to keep farming are the subject of 'Dryland,' a documentary that will be shown in Moses Lake Oct. 15.
The combine driven by Josh Knodel, known as Jaws, is one of the stars of the documentary 'Dryland," which will be shown in Moses Lake Oct. 15.
MOSES LAKE - A film depicting the challenges of two Lind-area wheat farmers, their families, friends and community, will be shown at 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center.
A showing of "Dryland" will be presented in Ellensburg Saturday, at 4:15 p.m. in the Student Union and Recreation Center at Central Washington University. In both showings, directors Sue Arbuthnot and Richard Wilhelm will have a question and answer session after the movie.
A pre-screening reception is scheduled in Moses Lake.
"Dryland" details the decade-long story of Josh Knodel and Matt Miller, who the filmmakers met while doing research for a documentary on the Lind Combine Derby, Arbuthnot said in an earlier interview. Miller and Knodel, then teenagers, were derby participants, Knodel as a first-time driver, Miller on his pit crew.
Arbuthnot and Wilhelm got interested in the bigger story of 21st Century farming, and how, among other things, how technology has impacted farming and farm towns. "We realized this story was a lot deeper," Arbuthnot said.
Wilhelm and Arbuthnot followed the two men for 10 years, through high school graduation, college and into the workforce. Miller came back to Lind and works at his family's farm. Knodel's circumstances were different. He wanted to work at the farm, but the operation wasn't big enough to support the extended family, she said.
Knodel took a job out of state but eventually was able to come back to the farm. Arbuthnot said the filmmakers told the story of the two families because it's representative of a lot of farms and farm families.
One of "Dryland's" themes is the effect of technology and a changing economy on farming, she said.
The film will be shown at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Yakima Valley Museum and Cultural Center in Yakima. That showing is in partnership with the Humanities Washington program. Screenings also are scheduled during the Washington Farm Bureau meeting in Yakima later that week.