Brooklyn Grange: A Portrait of Urban Farming (in post-production)

In the summer of 2012, a partnership of young urban farmers and entrepreneurs in New York City set out to expand their small business to a massive rooftop in the Brooklyn Navy Yards, potentially creating the largest rooftop farm in the world.

In this documentary film, we follow the team as they plan and install this new development, tracing the ins and outs of a risky business expansion.  The result is a portrait of hardworking and ambitious urban agrarians who are committed to transforming the city’s relationship to fresh, healthy, locally-produced food, despite considerable challenges and setbacks.

From Brooklyn Grange, in their own words: 

At our core, we are a farm, and growing nutritious, tasty food is our passion.  Doing so in New York is our dream.  We believe that this city can be more sustainable; that our air can be cooler and waterways can be cleaner.  We believe that the 14% of our landfills comprised of food scraps should be converted into organic energy for our plants, and plants around the city via active compost programs.  We believe that food should be fresh, not sitting on the back of a flatbed for two weeks.  We believe that food should taste fresh.  Because at the end of the day, it’s about sitting down with our farmily, admiring that sunset over the city skyline, snacking on a perfectly ripe, sweet tomato and remembering: this is what real food is.

To learn more about the documentary and the work of Brooklyn Grange, watch the series of featurettes that introduce the project.

Expected Release: Winter 2012

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Brooklyn Grange : First Planting Featurette

Brooklyn Grange : Bee Keepers Featurette

Brooklyn Grange : Chicken Coop Featurette

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Director - Michael Tyburski
Producers - Burke Cherrie, Ben Nabors
Camera Operators - Todd Banhazl, Julia Dengel, Filipp Penson, Matthew Charof, Nathan Allen