— For Home Use Only —

FAR OUT: life on & after the commune tells the story of two rural New England communal farms, tracing fifty years in the lives of a group of New England writers, activists and artists. It conveys not only how these “hippies” transformed Vermont and Western Massachusetts, but also how rural life and the people they met changed them.

The film’s story begins in the summer of 1968, in the middle of a left-wing faction fight, when a group of radical journalists from Liberation News Service (LNS) leave New York City for the country. The journalists founded two communes – at Packer Corners in Guilford, Vermont and the other in Montague, Massachusetts. After leaving the city and turning away from national politics, the group of mostly young city slickers became pioneers in the back-to-the-land and organic farming movement with the help of their neighbors.

In 1973, when the local utility proposed a giant twin nuclear plant four miles from the Montague Farm, they became active opponents. In a dramatic act of civil disobedience, Sam Lovejoy, from the Montague Farm, toppled a 500-foot weather tower on the planned nuclear site. He turned himself in, and after a trial where he represented himself and drew national attention, was acquitted. Subsequently, the group became leaders in the burgeoning 'No Nukes' movement. In 1979, they teamed up with Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, John Hall, Graham Nash and other committed rock stars to help produce five nights of sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden and a 250,000-person rally in New York City.

The Packer Corners farm also returned to politics, aiding in the anti-nuclear fight, as well as engaging with the local community through producing outdoor plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Alice in Wonderland, and The Tempest.

Presented by Bullfrog Films
Directed by Charles Light
Produced by Charles Light, Daniel Keller
Producers: Jennifer Gilbert, Nora Jacobson
Associate Producers: Robbie Gordon, Michael Hanish
Editor: Charles Light
Camera: Daniel Keller, Michael Hanish, Harry Saxman, Alan Dater, Don McClean, Rawn Fulton
Sound: Daniel Keller, Charles Light, Alan Dater
Narration: Suzie Pollucci, John Wilton
Writers: Charles Light, Harvey Wasserman, Daniel Keller, Nora Jacobson
Music: Patty Carpenter
A Green Mountain Post Films production

Educational Use: https://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/far.html
Academic Streaming: https://docuseek2.com/bf-far
Community Screenings: https://www.bullfrogcommunities.com/far_order_form