Award Winning 2006 Agriculture Documentary 'Farmboy' to Be Remastered and Re-Released

Project to Implement Artificial Intelligence to Greatly Enhance Visuals Originally Generated Using Early Digital Filmmaking Technology

H.E. Babcock at Sunnygables

Mainspring Narrative Films, along with producer/director Jake Gorst, announced today that the 2006 documentary film Farmboy is to be remastered and released to public television, digital streaming and theater screens in the fall of 2022.

Farmboy was originally produced using early digital filmmaking technology, which has not held up to modern standards. "It was filmed with a Panasonic AG-DVX100 camera, which was popular in the early 2000s with independent filmmakers because it produced a film-emulating look," says Gorst. "But it looks fuzzy compared to modern digital productions. We removed it from distribution over a decade ago for this reason. But, with current artificial intelligence [AI] software and creative techniques that we have developed, we will now be able to give our film renewed life - and we are very excited about it."

The film traces the story of a 1930s research farm in central New York where revolutionary agriculture techniques and equipment were developed. It won a 2007 News and Documentary Emmy® Award for the soundtrack, composed by Richie Saccente and S. Cosmo Mallardi, with contributions by Gorst.

"The story of the Sunnygables research farm and the Babcock family is important for a full understanding of American agricultural development in the 20th century," said Gorst. "Every American dinner table experienced the changes affected by this farm. The innovative principles and programs developed by Cornell University Board Chairman H.E. Babcock helped preserve and advance the farming industry during the time of the Great Depression in the United States - and are saving farms in other lands to this day."

Mainspring Narrative Films, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit company, produces quality educational documentaries focusing on art, architecture, and cultural history. The company strives to foster a greater understanding of our modern world by exhaustively researching the past and releasing films that often include previously unknown archival imagery and documentation. 

Contact Information:

Mainspring Narrative Films, Inc.
Susan Leigh Babcock
Director of Development
(607) 351-3838
SBabcock@mainspringnarrative.org

Source: Mainspring Narrative Films, Inc.