Silo the film: A grain entrapment story

Shay

Foulk: Hey podcast, today we have a very important conversation about farm safety in a film called Silo with special guest Sam Goldberg. Sam worked with an amazing film and farm team to highlight the story and message of grain entrapment throughout the country. Please be careful this fall, and you can find more information at silothefilm.com and on all social media platforms. If you are interested in hosting a screening for your community, Please email Sam at sam@silothefilm.com. Enjoy. Welcome back, everyone, to the Ag View Pitch. My name is Shay Foulk, and I'm here with you today to discuss a topic very near and dear to my heart, and that is farm safety. I am joined by special guest Sam Goldberg to talk about a film that I think a lot of people in the agricultural community are really going to enjoy. So thank you for joining me here today, Sam.

Sam

Goldberg: Thanks for having me, Shay. Appreciate it.

Shay

Foulk: So tell me a little bit about yourself. What's your background? And, you know, how did you get into film?

Sam

Goldberg: Cool. Well, you know, I'm speaking with you sitting here in New York City. This is where I grew up, in Manhattan. And I grew up in a building that was actually predominantly like artists, musicians, painters, and actors. And as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be in the entertainment business. At first, I thought I wanted to be an actor. And then the more I kind of dug into it, I really enjoyed writing and directing and producing. And so for the last, you know, decade or so since I graduated college, I've been working on a variety of different stories that are either documentaries or movies inspired by true stories. And I just think, I think that film and television and art in general has the ability to produce empathy and connect people with each other in a different way. I've always really related to that.

I know I've learned a lot about the world through movies. It's just kind of, I feel like for a lot of people that might be the case. So I've just always wanted to be involved in this industry and look for stories that I think could really build a bridge between people and be unique and entertaining. So that's kind of what I've been up to. And then I was pitched this movie, Silo, a few years ago, and I've kind of thrown myself into it.

Shay

Foulk: So tell me a little bit about that with the pitch, and, and why did you take an interest in it?

Sam

Goldberg: So in 2014, I had just developed a script that I was selling to Warner Brothers Studios, which still has not gotten made, by the way, which gives you an indication of how slow things can move in my industry, right? But the people who wrote that script had just taken a trip to Nashville, and they met a director there named Marshall Burnett. and he, he had just heard an NPR story about a grain entrapment in Mount Carroll, Illinois, which was quite infamous. It was 3 teenage boys who went into a grain bin, uh, actually 4 of them went into the bin. Uh, one of them was able to run out and yell for help. 3 of them were trapped and 2 of them drowned and died. And, uh, the 3rd boy was rescued. His name was Will Piper. And, um, Marshall was listening to this story and Marshall himself had grown up in, in tobacco country in East Tennessee.

But he had never heard of an entrapment, and he knew very little about silage, grain bins, grain storage, and he thought this would make for a very entertaining, interesting drama, a film, but also he pitched me when we met that he wanted to depict the people he grew up around in an authentic and positive way. You know, he and I both felt that the independent film industry had kind of left the middle American experience, the rural American experience, and certainly the agricultural experience behind. And so together, he, a farm kid, me, a city kid, felt like we could maybe do something interesting. And so we started doing research and development. The more we leaned into it, the more we learned that everybody in agriculture knows somebody who's been hurt or even killed in a farm accident. I actually think agriculture is statistically the most dangerous job in America.

And as we just learned more and more about it, we met farmers, we met fire rescue workers, We kind of fell in love with the space and we developed a screenplay that we thought would be this authentic, realistic story. That started 5 years ago. It took a bunch of years to really get our legs underneath us and we were able to raise the money last year to go make an independent film that's 75 minutes long. I'm pretty proud of it.

Shay

Foulk: That's really incredible how that all came together. I've read about the fact that, you know, it started as something that we just want moviegoers to go and enjoy. You know, you talked about that middle America, let's produce a film for them. And it turned into much more than that with all the people that got involved. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

Sam

Goldberg: Yeah, so, you know, I really want to think back to the first big meeting I had with a farmer, which was in 2016. There's a guy named Adam Fox in Indiana. Fox Farms in Aurora County. And it was right before planting was starting. So it was like a super busy time of year. And even though that was the case, the Fox family spent hours with us, showing them around the— showing us around the farm, letting us film, asking them questions. And I was just taken by the level of patience there was and the kindness and generosity within the ag community. And the more I met farmers, the more I realized this was the case. And the more we were telling people we were making a film about grain entrapment, the more it kind of snowballed and took on a life of its own.

And it went from having farmers support the movie to having Quint Pottinger, a guy in Kentucky who's an 11th generation farmer there, let us use his farm to film right before harvest season last year. Then we also went to a farm. We saw a big grain bin that said Sukup on it. We'd never seen Sukup before. We found out they were a family-owned business out of Iowa, very good customer service. From everybody we talked to. We called them, they said they'd love to be involved, so they got involved. They built all of our sets where we essentially pretended to engulf actors in corn. Then we were in Kentucky shooting there. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture heard about the movie. Their head of safety, a guy named Dale Dobson, came on board. He showed up with fire trucks, police cars, safety equipment, extras.

It felt like everywhere we went, Shay, the community just wrapped its arm around us and said, listen, we're gonna help you make this movie. 'Cause we're not a big studio film. We're a really small company. And we never could have made this film had it not been for the involvement of the agriculture and fire rescue communities. And that's just been probably the coolest part of this whole process is that frankly, I've just made a bunch of new friends, like real lifelong friends in the process, in a part of the country that I had never really visited before. So it's just been a very unique experience. And on top of all that, the movie itself is basically about community. You know, it's about what happens in a small town when an accident like this happens and how people have to band together to save a life of somebody they love.

And it's tricky because when a volunteer fire chief shows up in a small town, Grain Entrapment, 99% of the time they know the kid or they know his mom or his dad or, you know, like it's such a small, It's such a small, you know, integrated community. And that's what the movie's about. That's how we got the movie made. And that's what's probably made it such a gratifying experience.

Shay

Foulk: That's really incredible. So tell me a little bit more about the movie. We'll, we'll post the trailer so that the listeners can see more about it and get the information on how they can view the film. But, you know, tell me a little bit more about the story and how it affects, you know, families, communities. I know mental health is a big part of the film and how that plays into it. Tell me a little bit more about that.

Sam

Goldberg: Yeah, so there's 6 main characters in the film. It's an ensemble movie that really shows different perspectives throughout both before and after a grain entrapment happens. The main character is Junior, who owns the farm, and his dad suffers from dementia, and Junior is taking over the farm from his dad. And on the day where this accident happens, uh, the two best friends, uh, Lucha and Cody, are working on the farm, and they're kind of out there trying to learn what they can learn, teasing each other, having fun. Cody's mom works nearby. She's a single mother. And then there's a really, really fantastic character in our volunteer fire chief. So it's these six main characters, and, you know, about 15 minutes into the movie a grain entrapment happens. Cody gets trapped, and then the rest of the film is basically them trying to rescue him.

You know, the volunteer fire department shows up, they've got to figure out what to do. The volunteer fire chief has a little bit of a contentious relationship with Cody's mom, and so that creates some drama inherent in their interactions. And it's just, you know, it's just kind of like, what does it look like a day— a day in the life of a farm town where something like this happens, where you kind of get to see all these, you know, all these underlying emotional things come to the surface. And, uh, yeah, like, like you mentioned, you know, we deal with multi-generational farming in the movie and how challenging that could be nowadays. You know, we deal with youth on the farm and how often there's sort of not as much training around safety for youth.

And so we hope that when people watch the movie, some of these kind of under-the-surface lessons make their way to the surface so that farmers can maybe think a little bit more critically about how they're operating in terms of safety on their farms.

Shay

Foulk: As I sit here, literally got goosebumps because of, you know, how real the situation is that you just described, uh, you know, throughout, not only with the volunteer fire departments and how safety plays into that, of, you know, the people in the community, not only the people that are responding to these situations but also the people that are on the farms, and the scenario that you laid out And I'm really impressed. And in full disclosure, you know, I haven't seen the film, but I'm really impressed with how detailed and accurate you got that storyline, you know, coming from New York. And obviously you had tons of people involved with that. But how did that pan out to paint this really accurate picture?

Sam

Goldberg: Well, I've got to give a lot of credit to our director and our screenwriter, you know, Marshall and Jason Williamson. They're both from smaller towns. Jason grew up right around his grandparents' farm in North Carolina. And so probably, you know, they say like one thing you could do as a good like business head is hire the right people. So I was lucky to work with two guys who are very authentic and they're just good empathetic human beings, both of them. They didn't wanna make, you know, a Hollywood phony kind of story. They really wanted it to feel like what that would be like. And I think, I'm telling you the thing that really struck all of us when we started talking to fire rescue workers was how difficult it is for them to respond to any accident in their towns, whether it be a car accident or a grain entrapment or a tractor rollover. They basically always know the people.

So it's so emotionally tense. You know, it's not like in New York City where it's anonymous. You know, it's very different. And, you know, I didn't know this, but I think over 80% or somewhere around 80% of American firefighters are volunteer. So these are just people in the community doing this out of the goodness of their heart. And it's just amazing to me. So, you know, I feel like we had such a— because we had two writers and creators who didn't want this to not feel like what they grew up around. And then a guy like me who wasn't looking to just make a run-of-the-mill Hollywood movie. We had a good chemistry between the three of us. And actually, my business partner, Ivan, he's from Toronto. So he's also a big city kid. So you had these two city kids, these two country kids. We came together. And, you know, thankfully we're not making movies just to make dollars or get famous.

We definitely want to have a positive social impact on the planet. And we really do. We don't just say it. So I think that really kept us accountable to our values.

Shay

Foulk: That's a very cool way to put that. And they— you know, a lot of people talk about success and how does your success— and it comes in many different ways. But when you truly work towards doing the right thing and are trying to make a positive impact on the world, it's pretty amazing how that can pan out and come together.

Sam

Goldberg: It's because of people like you, Shay, if I'm being totally honest. You know, I have a phone call with you. You and I are meeting for the first time today. We get to connect genuinely. We get to really get to know each other. I mean, I'm— you know, one of the things that challenges me about the modern content marketplace is that so many people are watching things alone in their living rooms or with their spouse. And I think, I think that's fine. There's there's nothing wrong with that, but when it's the only thing you do, it creates a silo of a different kind, you know, where people don't communicate as much. And one of the things that I quite admire about rural America, and in particular agriculture, is that people are constantly looking out for their community and connecting with their community. And I strive for that, you know.

New York City is both a very social place and a very isolating place. You can really retreat into your apartment if you want to, but if you get out into the streets and you connect with your neighbor and you give somebody a smile and they're not looking down at their cell phone, you can have a real connection. So, you know, this is just, uh, this is just me wanting to connect with people. On some level, it's selfish. I want to live a life connected to good people, and I've just found such a high-quality individual in this space. So, uh, you know, I'm just blessed in that way, to be honest.

Shay

Foulk: Well, myself and the listeners really appreciate that. One thing that I want to hit on That I think is very important that you were talking about is the fact that 80% of the, uh, response force in emergency situations is often volunteer, especially in the rural communities. And a little bit of what we're doing at Ag View Solutions with some of our, uh, safety and risk management is we're actually developing plans, uh, for these farm operations to improve emergency responses. And what that looks like is inviting the members of your community that are on those response forces, whether it's the fire department, EMT services, sheriff, hazmat, and emergency response teams out to the farm operation and saying, you know, here's our setup, let's create some transparency here. Because it goes both ways.

It's not only that the emergency responders know the farmers, but that the farmers know the people that are responding. And why that's important is situations like grain entrapment is dangerous not only for the people that are actually entrapped, but for those coming to rescue. And there's some situations where, you know, the fire department or the EMS actually can't get in to conduct, you know, a live recovery because it's too unsafe for the department. And how do we establish that communication beforehand? And one of the key things with safety is right now we are very responsive instead of proactive when it comes to these situations. And how do we create a more proactive environment to, you know, talk about education and to prevent these things?

So Ag View Solutions is working with operations, creating easy-to-read and share blueprints for operations, facilitating these meetings with emergency response departments to have the important conversations So that, you know, if unfortunately something disastrous happens, that we are able to respond to that in an appropriate manner. So, you know, just a little bit about what we're doing there. One thing that I want to lead into is, you know, how can listeners watch the film? And more importantly, I know that there's the ability to host screenings throughout the country. Tell me a little bit more about that.

Sam

Goldberg: Well, first of all, I think what you just said is totally brilliant. I think farmers and their local fire department having a personal relationship where they connect every now and again to make sure that they know what's going on with each other, I think is so smart. So I just think that's such a good idea. So kudos to you and Ag View Solutions. I really think that's— I think that's really, really smart. Thank you. Because one of the things that I've noticed is a bit of a gap in the market. And I— even though it's not a market gap, it's a gap in the knowledge market. For people to try and save themselves. In terms of seeing the movie, you know, as I said, community is kind of the big through line here. Community helped us make the film. The film itself is about community. And now we're doing community screenings.

So we're not your typical big— we want people to be able to watch the film as a community. And then be able to be educated by some of the discussion guide and— and host a screening, or click on host a screening, and that'll come directly to me, and then we'll connect with you about how you can bring the movie co-op, you bring the whole community together to do something that's entertaining and educational. And we've booked a lot of these screenings already around the country ever since we launched the film at the Farm Progress Show at the end of August. So, you know, I definitely encourage— I encourage you, Shea, I hope you guys in Ag View can do a screening. And then any of your listeners, anybody who wants to kind of talk about it, go to silothefilm.com or you can email me directly at sam@silothefilm.com. And we'll figure out how to get the movie to your town.

Shay

Foulk: Yes, and Ag View Solutions, I'll tell you right now, we're committed to hosting a screening and probably host one for a seed operation in Illinois as well. We want to get the message out there. We want to share this, and I really think that the aspect of getting the community involved with it is not only important and, you know, says a lot about the purpose of the film, But to bring people together and have this discussion, you know, kudos to you as well for making that the message and making that the goal. We really appreciate that in the agriculture community for sure.

Sam

Goldberg: Well, listen, it's a pleasure. Definitely hope to visit you guys in Northwest Illinois sometime soon. We're definitely going to be bopping around the country at various farm conferences and different things, and maybe I can make my way to one of the screenings you do. So, you know, just, just keep in touch and, you know, thank for this platform. Without these kind of publicity opportunities, people wouldn't even know our movie exists, so I really appreciate it.

Shay

Foulk: Sam, thank you so much for joining us today.

Sam

Goldberg: Thank you, sir.

Shay

Foulk: And thank you everyone for listening to the Ag View Pitch. We will have the information posted for you to check out this film and learn more, and we will catch you next time. For everyone listening, please, please stay safe this fall. Share this podcast or the film information with anyone you think may benefit from it. And again, you can learn more at silothefilm.com or by emailing Sam at sam@silothefilm.com. If you want to learn more about Ag View Solutions Safety and Risk Management Emergency Response Coordination, email us at cbarron@agviewsolutions.com. Stay safe out there.