Award-winning independent feature film features American Legion
The comedy-drama 'Farmer of the Year' shoots major scene at American Legion Post 185 in Tyler, Minn.
Craftsbury Common, VT – The 2018 film 'Farmer of the Year' tells the story of grandfather Hap Anderson, played by Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure, No Country for Old Men, Urban Cowboy, War Games), and granddaughter Ashley, played by Mackinlee Waddell (GCB) who go on a road trip and learn from each other. Corbin plays a WWII veteran in his 80s, and they travel across the country to his Army reunion.
'Farmer of the Year' is the first full-length film of Vince O'Connell and Kathy Swanson. Kathy wrote the screenplay, then co-directed and co-produced it, with husband Vince. "The scene we shot at the Legion is my favorite of the whole movie, as the Legion hall was such a huge part of my life growing up in a small town and on a farm." said Swanson. Her dad, Howard, now 86, has been a Legion member for 58 years and has served as commander, vice commander and chaplain. "I remember proms, pancake breakfasts, jr. high and wedding dances and Saturday night dances with my parents in that building", said Swanson. "For me, coming back to shoot in the Legion was like a dream." Legion members from Howard's era (i.e., parents of Swanson's high school classmates) and younger came to be extras and to watch.
"The 'Farmer of the Year' crew respectfully re-created the authentic experience of a typical Legion event which is fun to see on the big screen," said Post 185 Commander Duane Blake. "Several post members appeared in the film and are still talking about their acting experience, especially now that the movie is out and they've seen themselves on film.”
The film, a deceptively simple look at aging, transitions, loss, family and staying young, has been featured in the Minnesota Legionnaire Magazine.
It has been selected to screen at film festivals across the country, winning 'Audience Choice Awards' at the Minneapolis St. Paul, Sedona and Woods Hole International Film Festivals. It was nominated for 'Best Actor' for Barry Corbin at Woods Hole and Best Feature Film and Best Actor at the Soho International Film Festival in New York City and Lady Filmmakers Festival in Los Angeles.
Audiences around the country are talking about the film:
“It was a charming film from start to finish … My favorite movie of the entire [MSP Film] Festival,” Katie Matthies, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
“Cleverly written, humorous with a down-to-earth flavor and layered generations ... The Real Deal!” Noreen Ireland, Sedona, Arizona
“Fabulous, funny, sad, heartwarming, beautiful movie.” Julie Lund Zimmeth, Minneapolis, Minnesota
“My friends and I really enjoyed this movie. It was a nice mix of comedy and sentiment. It was an authentic look at aging but also found a way to make us laugh again and again. It captured the beauty of rural life.” IMDB Reviewer
I love this movie. It's entertaining and funny, but it's also a meditation on youth and age that will kind of break your heart and put it back together again.” Lu Lippold, Director, Flyway Film Festival
Filled with typical, understated small-town humor and restraint, 'Farmer of the Year' captures the sense of real life, location and spirit of rural America with a unique combination of homegrown and Hollywood.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/257288956
Synopsis: After selling the farm he's worked for over 60 years, an aging farmer finds himself useless and adrift. Struggling to maintain his youth, he road-trips across the country in a ’73 Winnebago with his equally directionless and unreasonably self-confident granddaughter. Heading west, they find themselves in seemingly impossible situations with only each other for support. As the journey progresses, so does their relationship, and they begin to understand and appreciate each other as individuals while discovering that being young and being old aren’t all that different.
Contact: Kathy Swanson
kathy@yellowhousefilms.com or 413 230 6862
