Where We Bloom

A Documentary About the Ripple Effect of Local Flowers

Project Overview

In 2024, our family stepped onto a fallow, forgotten field in Hood River, Oregon. After losing the leased land that allowed us to farm at the end of 2023, we had to start over completely. This documentary follows that journey of rebuilding from scratch and explores the unexpected ripple effect of local flowers.

The film captures the creation of a regenerative flower farm and the many ways flowers touch people, communities, and the ecosystems around us. With our family as the thread, we follow stories that illuminate why growing beauty locally matters now more than ever.

The Story

Flower farming has been part of our life since 2019. When we lost the land we depended on at the end of 2023, everything changed. After months of searching, we became stewards of a bare 20-acre field in September 2024. The land needed years of care, restoration, and attention. Choosing to start over here was an act of hope and resilience.

As we began documenting the process, we saw something deeper emerging. Local flowers create a ripple that extends far beyond a single farm. Flowers support pollinators, strengthen ecosystems, connect communities, and remind us to be present to fleeting beauty.

This documentary blends our personal story with the broader impact of locally grown flowers. It explores what happens when a family chooses to rebuild in harmony with the land, and how something as simple as a flower can bring people together.

Why This Film Matters

More than 80 percent of cut flowers sold in the United States are imported and grown with synthetic chemicals. At the same time, communities everywhere are seeking more sustainable, local, and meaningful alternatives.

This film offers a cinematic look at the movement blooming across the country. It highlights the power of local flowers to restore landscapes, support biodiversity, and uplift communities. It also offers a hopeful, human-centered narrative at a time when many people feel disconnected from the natural world.

Why Now

We are now one year into filming, and the heart of the story is beginning to unfold. Over the next two years, we will capture the most significant transformation on the land and within the community. These moments are time-sensitive and cannot be recreated later, which makes consistent support during this phase essential.

Filming will continue through 2027 to authentically document the growth of the farm, the ripple stories emerging from the community, and the evolution of the land itself. Following production, we will move into post-production to shape the film into a feature-length documentary ready for festivals, distributors, and impact partners.

Major contributions at this stage have the potential to fund large portions of the film and ensure we can maintain continuity, quality, and depth across multiple seasons. Early investment allows us to secure crew, travel, equipment, and long-format storytelling windows that are critical to capturing this story with the cinematic scope it deserves.

This is a rare opportunity to support a multi-year documentary that sits at the intersection of regenerative agriculture, local flowers, community connection, and environmental resilience. With your support now, we can continue filming at pivotal moments, create a compelling long-form trailer for grants and distributors, and build the momentum needed to bring this story to screens around the world.

Your contribution helps us finish this film with the care, artistry, and reach it is capable of.

Production Team

This film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Michael Peterson, whose previous work includes Dammed to Extinction and The Last 100 Miles. Michael spent 20 years in film and television in Hollywood, with credits including Independence Day, Armageddon, and Contact. His background in capturing nature, land, and human connection gives this project a distinctly cinematic feel.

The film is produced and guided by Jennifer Gulizia, a flower farmer, educator, and podcast host who brings authenticity and lived experience to the story unfolding on the land.

Together, they bring deep visual storytelling and a grounded connection to place.

Your Support

Your support directly fuels the next two years of filming and the completion of this documentary. We are now one year into production, and the most pivotal storytelling moments will unfold between now and 2027. Contributions at this stage ensure we can capture these seasons in real time and maintain the cinematic quality needed for a feature-length film.

Your donation will support:

• Filming across multiple seasons as the farm, land, and community continue to evolve
• Documenting ripple stories from people whose lives are touched by local flowers
• Capturing ecological changes and pollinator activity as the land is restored
• Travel, equipment, crew, and on-the-ground production needs
• Editing and post-production once filming concludes in 2027
• Creation of a long-form cinematic trailer for grants, distributors, and impact partners

Major gifts through IDA have the potential to fund significant portions of the film and ensure the continuity and depth required for a multi-year documentary.

The International Documentary Association (IDA) is our fiscal sponsor. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Thank you for helping us share this story with the world.