New Doc Chronicles Threat to South Central L.A. Garden

---

A tree may grow in Brooklyn, but there's a 14-acre farm in South Central Los Angeles. It's been there since 1994, donated to residents by the local food bank in the wake of the L.A. riots sparked by the Rodney King verdict. Since that time, farmers, primarily Latino immigrants, split the acreage into more than 300 individual plots and tended the land-producing fruits and vegetables for both food and medicine.In 2006, the land's previous owner successfully sued the city to gain back control of the land. (The city initially plucked it from him in order to install an incinerator that it never built.) The developer made a deal with the clothing store Forever 21 to put a warehouse on the land. He also magnanimously offered up three acres for a public soccer field.A hubbub immediately ensued with the farmers vehemently protesting the deal and taking turns sleeping in the sprawling garden to keep developers from tearing it down. The South Central Farm became a cause célèbre-with Darryl Hannah and Dennis Kucinich, among others, stopping by to lend their support.Documentary filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy made The Garden to chronicle the struggle to keep the garden alive. The latest: In late-August, the developer's lawyers agreed to perform an environmental impact report that will delay any decision on the plot's fate for another year. The struggle continues. But, if you want to get caught up on the action, take a look at The Garden's powerful trailer.Via Pruned. (Photo via Black Valley Films.)