- Welcome to Independent Lens .
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of Wisconsin Public Television's
Director's Cut .
When you think of wine country, you don't typically
think of people working behind the scenes.
Tonight's film Harvest Season introduces you to these workers
who are just as essential to the wine industry
as back up singers are to a band
or background actors are to a play.
The film follows the lives
of Mexican American winemakers and migrant workers who,
although crucial to the wine industry,
rarely are given credit for their contributions.
Set in beautiful Napa Valley, California,
director Bernardo Ruiz shows a wine country
lush with beauty and wealth
and juxtaposes it with working- class agricultural communities
struggling with poverty and lacking affordable housing.
The New York-based Ruiz is a two time Emmy nominee
and a graduate of U.C. Berkley's Graduate School of Journalism.
His first film was called Reportero
and chronicled the attacks on the press in Mexico.
Documentarians come from all walks of life, but for Ruiz,
a background in journalism and investigative reporting
provide real transparency in his story telling
which is on display tonight in his latest effort.
Harvest Season starts now on Wisconsin Public Television,
your home for independent film.