Dirty Work: The Story of Elsie's Farm is a new documentary film by artist and filmmaker Deb Wallwork. The film is an engaging portrait of a couple, Don Roberts and Joni Cash, and their audacious, perhaps quixotic dream to take an old farm, invest it with new ideas and grow a community.

Community supported agriculture; what does it take? Who are the people that make it happen? And how are their lives transformed by living out the change they hope to see?

Shot in a cinema-verite style, it documents a year in the life of an organic farm, called Elsie's Farm, in Ridgeland WI. From planting seeds in the spring, to the harvest in the fall, the film follows the ancient pattern of the seasons and shows what goes into making such a farm tick. It's a film about getting your hands dirty, doing work you believe in, and planting the seeds of the future.

The film steers us to think about how we might have a different relationship to the earth, to the soil, and plants that feed us. That such a life is desirable, and possible, even in our industrial society, takes faith, commitment, humor, a certain toughness, and the risk of breaking your heart.

Find Deb's musings about the making of the film at her blog.

Watch the trailer:


Contact: Deb Wallwork, Red Eye Video, 651-216-4610, e-mail