FILM ABOUT PA'S ENDANGERED FARMERS WINS AWARD AND IS ACCEPTED INTO FESTIVAL

HARRISBURG (March 31, 2000) - "Farming on the Edge," a documentary about the plight of Pennsylvania farmers as they work to preserve some of the richest farmland in the country, has won a 2000 Silver Telly Award and has been accepted into the 15th Annual Festival of Independents at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema.
The film delves into lives of three PA farming families-one losing its farm to sprawl, one struggling to adapt to development changes, and one able to preserve its farm. It presents an inside look at how economic and societal changes are negatively affecting our food providers.

"Farming on the Edge" puts a human face on the challenges confronting family farms in suburbanizing communities throughout Pennsylvania," said Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) Vice President Andrew Johnson. "The award-winning film's sensitive portrayal of these farm families-and the fate of their land and their livelihood-conveys the richness of Pennsylvania's agricultural heritage and the beauty of our land and the threat posed by suburban sprawl."

The Telly Awards competition recognizes non-network and cable television programming throughout the United States. The Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema: 15th Annual Festival of Independents is a curated salute to regional film and videomakers.

"We are extremely pleased with the success of "Farming on the Edge," said Executive Producer Tim Schlitzer. "We filmed it in 16 mm film to show the beauty of Pennsylvania farms and to clearly show that we are losing more and more local farms to sprawl."

Lancaster Farmland Trust Executive Director Tom Stouffer said, "'Farming on the Edge' features real farm families, who like most farmers face a constant balancing act. On one hand, to stay on the farm, they must ensure that they grow, market and receive fair value for their product. On the other, they are expected to be good stewards of the land-an increasingly difficult task in a society that has too long looked on farmland as vacant land ready for a so-called better use, and not as land that will provide food for our children and grandchildren. These farmers recognize first hand the fact that our land is not inherited from our ancestors, but on loan from our descendents."

"Farming on the Edge" was produced by Schlitzer and Filmmaker Gabrielle Mahler for the Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania (EFP). Originally released as part of the GreenWorks for Pennsylvania television program, the current version of the film is being entered into several film festivals, as well as being used for educational purposes.
The Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania has previously won 3 Bronze Tellys for GreenWorks programs, but this is the organization's first Silver Telly.

To learn more about "Farming on the Edge" and GreenWorks, or to order a VHS copy of the show, call 1-877-PA-GREEN, or visit the website at http://www.greenworkschannel.org.

CONTACT:
Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania
215-545-5880