Rice Seed Saving in Hongcheon, South Korea

Press Page

Both because of the film’s content, and the unique community-engaged way in which is was filmed and toured, Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness has received significant coverage in magazines, newspapers, and other media in recent years. A partial list of this coverage is available In the Media page.

We welcome your questions, however we’ve also tried to  answer most of the frequent ones in the PDF document below.  Several high-resolution photographs are also available to download below. If you don’t find what you need here, please contact us through the information listed in the press kit, or on our contact page.

Press Kit

  • Download Press Kit (August 2016) | synopsis, bios, FAQ, and contacts
    (PDF  |  Word)

Photos

— These high-resolution photographs are suitable for use in most print publications, just right-click (ctrl-click) and choose ‘Save Link As…’ to download.

— All photographs are copyrighted (CC BY-SA, FinalStraw.org) and may be used according to Creative Commons terms of usage.

— For special requests and/or higher-resolution images, please contact us.

Rice harvest at 최성현 Seonghyun Choi's natural farm in Hongcheon, South Korea (Photo: P.M. Lydon | Final Straw)
Sunrise at the natural rice farm of Seonghyun Choi in Hongcheon, Korea (
CC BY-SA, Patrick Lydon / FinalStraw.org)

Rice harvest at 최성현 Seonghyun Choi's natural farm in Hongcheon, South Korea (Photo: P.M. Lydon | Final Straw)
Morning at the natural rice farm of Seonghyun Choi in Hongcheon, Korea (
CC BY-SA, Patrick Lydon / FinalStraw.org)

Rice seedlings waiting to be planted at 최성현 Seonghyun Choi's natural farm in Hongcheon, South Korea (Photo: P.M. Lydon | Final Straw)
Rice planting in the field in Hongcheon, Korea (
CC BY-SA, Patrick Lydon / FinalStraw.org)

Rice harvest by hand in Hongcheon, South Korea (Photo: P.M. Lydon | Final Straw)
Rice harvest at the field in Hongcheon, Korea (
CC BY-SA, Patrick Lydon / FinalStraw.org)

Directors Suhee Kang and Patrick Lydon during a study session at Seonghyun Choi's natural farm in Hongcheon, South Korea (Photo: Final Straw)
Film co-directors Suhee Kang (left) and Patrick Lydon (right) (
CC BY-SA, FinalStraw.org)

Yoshikazu Kawaguchi at his Akame Open Farm School in Nara, Japan (photo, P.M. Lydon / Final Straw)
Yoshikazu Kawaguchi at his demonstration farm and free school in Nara prefecture, Japan (
CC BY-SA, Patrick Lydon / FinalStraw.org)

Naturally-farmed rice in Hongcheon, South Korea (Photo: Suhee Kang | Final Straw)
Natural rice field in the morning in Hongcheon, Korea (CC BY-SA, Suhee Kang / FinalStraw.org)

Final Straw Directors Patrick Lydon and Suhee Kang with natural farmers Etsko Kagamiyama and Kenji Murakame at their farm in Itoshima, Japan (Photo: Ohio)
Filming in Fukuoka, Japan. Pictured (left to right) Etsuko Kagamiyama, Suhee Kang, Patrick Lydon, Kenji Murakami (
CC BY-SA, FinalStraw.org)

Cheon Jun harvesting rice in Hongcheon, Korea (CC BY-SA, Patrick M. Lydon / Final Straw)
Rice harvest at a natural farm in Hongcheon, Korea (
CC BY-SA, Patrick Lydon / FinalStraw.org)

Co-Director Patrick Lydon with natural farmer Yoshikazu Kawaguchi in Akame, Japan (CC BY-SA, Kaori Tsuji / Final Straw)
Natural farmer Yoshikazu Kawaguchi and co-director Patrick Lydon during filming (
CC BY-SA, Kaori Tsuji / FinalStraw.org)

Explore More at Final Straw

Yoshikazu Kawaguchi and Kaori Tsuji talk about Kawaguchi's natural farming methods (Photo: P.M. Lydon | Final Straw)

What is Natural farming?

While techniques and methods vary widely, natural farmers share common roots in re-connecting themselves and their farming processes to the Earth, and cultivating food that inherently regenerates the health of the natural world—and of humanity.

Patrick and Suhee during filming of a community project in Megijima, Japan

About the Film

Inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka, and the book The One Straw Revolution, the film weaves together meditative landscapes, an eclectic original soundtrack, and inspiring stories from some of the world’s foremost figures in the natural farming movement.