Ep. 1: The Gleaners and I

For our very first episode, we focus on Agnès Varda's beloved documentary, THE GLEANERS AND I.Released in the year 2000, this warm, meandering masterpiece, which opened our 2026 festival, explores the act of gleaning, not only as collecting food that would otherwise go to waste, but as a multifaceted means of survival, expression, ecological responsibility, and belonging. Our featured guest is producer, writer, and film curator, Kiva Reardon. Kiva has dedicated countless hours to appreciating, studying, and writing about Varda. She even spent time with Agnés Varda and named her celebrated journal of film and feminism after the eponymous character of Varda’s breakthrough 1962 feature film, Cléo from 5 to 7.The founder of the Portland EcoFilm Festival, Dawn Smallman, joins our conversation, which explores what it was like to spend time with the famously curious filmmaker, radical empathy related to Varda's films and ecology, and much more.Kiva shares her favorite ecological films (several of which are available to rent at the world's best video store, Movie Madness, in Portland, Oregon.)Our host and the director of the festival, Rozzell Medina, also talks with Lizz Marks about what it was like to go from gleaning as a child to doing it professionally with Urban Gleaners. She shares insights into differences between the gleaning we see in Varda’s 2000 film, what it’s like to glean 26 years later in Portland, OR, and how people can put a foot into the gleaning world.Learn more about the Portland EcoFilm Festival and our podcast--where you'll also find detailed show notes and our guests' film recommendations from this episode.Our 2026 presentation of THE GLEANERS AND I at the Hollywood Theatre was sponsored by Lift UP, the Coalition to Advance Food Equity, and Urban Gleaners.The Portland EcoFilm Festival is a signature program of the Hollywood Theatre.Our theme music is from the song “Earth Worship” by the amazing band, Rubblebucket.Our podcast is hosted and produced by festival director Rozzell Medina.The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this program are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Film Forever Northwest or its affiliates.