“I didn’t realize until I did this that farming is extremely hard work—dawn to dusk. I have a lot of respect for the people who lead these lives.”

This from Alec Hirschfeld, a guy at the end of yet another 12-hour day on the set of Law and Order, practically shouting into his cell phone over the noisy New York City streets. Hirschfeld, a TV cameraman, is also filming “Out Here in the Fields,” a documentary commissioned by the Peconic Land Trust. But how do you translate the story of the land, of the people who work it and love it and want to save it forever, onto the screen?

This East Hampton filmmaker does it by forgoing digital apparatus for an antique 1963 Mitchell 35 mm movie camera, to capture something “more organic, more alive,” something that, he said, just doesn’t show up on video. Then he transfers the negative into digital format for editing. The plan is to screen the film at the Hamptons International Film Festival, and release it on DVD and Blu-ray disc to go onto YouTube and to schools, libraries and land conservation interests across the country.

“It’s a very powerful story,” said John v.H. Halsey, president of the trust, which saves thousands of East End acres from development while protecting the financial interests of landowners. “It’s about conservation, the future sustainability of agriculture and our communities. Ultimately, we’re trying to raise people’s consciousness about the importance of land to our future.”

That’s a tall order, and Hirschfeld fills it by getting inspiration from a place, capturing the “beauty shots,” as he calls it, then interviewing and recording farmers and landowners one-on-one. Out of this he weaves a narrative.

The first 10-minute segment is about the trust’s 30-acre Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, a community-supported organic farm on land donated by Deborah Ann Light, run by farm manager Scott Chaskey. Another segment, almost done, is about the 14-acre Shellfisher Preserve aquaculture facility in Southold, a hatchery and commercial cooperative run by Karen Rivara, perhaps the only woman on the East End who looks stunning in rubber boots and oyster guts.

Last, shooting continues at the 20-acre Babinski family farm in Wainscott. It’s a “PLT special,” a complicated sale of development rights and grassroots fundraising, with $7 million funded by the trust, East Hampton Town and about 120 local residents. The result is that father-and-son team Andy and Billy Babinski are still on the farm today.
Hirschfeld’s not-for-profit Eastern Life Films, Inc. (easternlifefilms.org), is still shy of its budget of about $45,000 for the documentary; actress Meryl Streep recently made a donation.

Dale Haubrich and Bette Lacina are also telling their story on film, a homegrown, 20-minute effort that’s so far cost about $7,000. They farm 1.75 acres in Sag Harbor and East Hampton. But the project has been held up by artistic differences. It seems the filmmaker focused on personality, but the couple wants an educational piece about intensive, organic farming on small acreage—an important skill, they believe, for the future of the East End and, indeed, the world.

“What do these people need five acres of lawn for?” asks Lacina, who does indeed have a great personality. “They should do something useful and farm some of it!”
Haubrich, a microbiologist, has perfected his methods over 30 years. By getting a crop of baby vegetables and greens every three weeks, he can grow 20 to 40 times the amount of produce per acre as a conventional farm.

“We farm by the square foot, not by the acre,” Haubrich said.

The produce is available at Sag Harbor Farmers’ Market, and at their farm stand on the Sag Harbor–Bridgehampton Turnpike. As for the film, they’re looking to team up with another filmmaker, and hoping for backers to kick in some money.

“We don’t plan on making a profit on this,” Haubrich laughed. “In fact, just the opposite. But we believe it’s an important story.”

More film stories of the land and sea will be screened at the Maritime Film Festival: Tradition at the Crossroads on Nov. 9 at Stony Brook University. This series of 15 documentary films explores some compelling questions: Is our coastal ecology and marine ecosystem threatened, and are fishermen and baymen, and their traditions, in danger of extinction? The films, including Glenn Gebhard’s “Baymen,” about the Great South Bay, tap the personal experiences of those close to the sea and its heritage, and are made possible by Long Island Traditions and New York Sea Grant. For reservations, visit longislandtraditions.org.