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| Migrant farmworker Rene Reyes during harvest.
Credit: Courtesy of Roberto Guerra |
Coming this week on PBS’s Independent Lens, filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz, introduces “Harvest Season.” The film tells the story of the temporary laborers, permanent residents, and multigenerational Latinos intimately connected to the production of premium wines in the Napa and Sonoma regions of Northern California — in the midst of one of the most dramatic grape harvests in recent memory.
“Harvest Season” premieres on Monday, May 13, 2019, 10:00-11:30 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS and will also be available simultaneously for online streaming at pbs.org.
The film follows the stories of three subjects essential to the wine industry, yet rarely recognized for their contributions: veteran winemaker Gustavo Brambila, Mexican migrant worker René Reyes, and wine entrepreneur Vanessa Robledo. Their stories unfold against the complex backdrop of reality in California’s Wine Country — a region of immense wealth that was accountable for $1.53 billion in export revenue last year. From this notion, Ruiz exposes Napa and Sonoma counties as spaces that inherently symbolize the contradictions foundational to the American story: on the one hand, romanticized global destinations replete with luxury hotels and precious real estate, and on the other, working-class agricultural communities with high rates of poverty and crises in affordable housing.
Check out a sneak peek below:
In the #Napa and #Sonoma valleys, the stories of migrant vineyard workers and Mexican-American winemakers are rarely told. #HarvestSeasonPBS premieres Monday, May 13 on @PBS. pic.twitter.com/rx76fHCRoQ
— Independent Lens|PBS (@IndependentLens) May 12, 2019
