The Biggest Little Farm

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Chester directs. John Chester behind the camera. Jeff Beal scores. Amy Overbeck cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 7 years ago.
• 2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 3Directed by John Chester, shot by John Chester. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Jeff Beal. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Amy Overbeck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6John Chester and Molly Chester and Beaudie Chester carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "200 acres of barren farmland, and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt8969332 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 14 themes, including "farm", "california", "social documentary", "farming".

The technical file

Cinematography

John Chester

Original score

Jeff Beal

Editing

Amy Overbeck

Sound

Frank A. Montaño

Runtime

91 min · 1h 31m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Box office

$5,070,484

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG

IMDB

The Biggest Little Farm (2019) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

91% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

73/100

IMDB rating

8/10 · 9,623 votes

MPAA

PG

Also by

John Chester

• 
  The Biggest Little Farm: The Return

  2022 · ★ 7.3

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Biggest Little Farm - Official Trailer Canada

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• SWITCH.2020-01-05
  ★ 8/10

  'The Biggest Little Farm' is inspiring, not only for its demonstration of the power of nature, but because it details the success story of people. It's a film about dreamers and the success of a goal, which is made only more promising through the story being born out of reality. John and Molly's positivity and creativity to showcase their effort, sustained energy and faith in their plans and goals is nothing short of encouraging. This film documents how we should live: with an appreciation of the balance of Mother Nature and with a fearless tenacity to live out our dreams. - Lily Meek Read Lily's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-biggest-little-farm-a-documentary-with-lessons-on-sustainable-farming-and-family

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• FA

  FarmLore Films

• 

  Diamond Docs

  US

• ER

  Erica Messer Productions

  US

Key crew

• Sound EditorKate Hopkins
• CinematographyBenji Lanpher
• Sound Re-Recording MixerFrank A. Montaño
• Sound DesignerAlex Knickerbocker
• Executive ProducerLaurie Lennard
• EditorAmy Overbeck
• ProducerSandra Keats
• ProducerJohn Chester
• Executive ProducerErica Messer

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• farm
• california
• social documentary
• farming
• sustainability
• nature documentary
• farming couple
• eco-sustainability
• sustainable solutions
• organic farming
• documentary
• farming practices
• food documentary
• social responsibility

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2018-09-01PG· Telluride Film Festival

Also known as

International titles

• 最大的小小农场CN
• Tout est possibleFR
• Unsere grosse kleine FarmDE
• La fattoria dei nostri sogniIT
• Nasze miejsce na ziemiPL
• Самая большая маленькая фермаRU
• 我家有個開心農場TW
• Ən Böyük Balaca FermaAZ