A docuseries showcasing Virginia and challenges in rural communities returns in October to VPM public television.
Season three of Life in the Heart Land will feature six episodes with topics ranging from finances to autism and aquaponics to cooperative businesses.
A kick-off event for the series is planned on Sept. 18 at the Sipe Center in Bridgewater running from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
The event is free, but registration is required.
In addition to a preview of the upcoming season, there will be a reception, interactive activities, a panel discussion and reflection from the producers on the series.
“We do want to give a microphone to people,” said Deep Structure’s Zach Laliberte, one of the producers of the series. “We’d like to make that microphone community wide and give that microphone to the people that are there. Not only for feedback but also questions people have. That’s how a lot of the time we get our stories for what we’ll do next.”
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Humanizing issues has always been a critical component of all 20 Life in the Heart Land episodes spanning three seasons.
“I noticed that this season we ended up with a lot of bigger topics,” said Zan Gillies, producer. “On paper, they seem so intractable or dry. We have the challenge – and also the joy – of being able to meet the people in those spaces and humanize them in ways that were really fun for us and also hopefully for the audience in ways that feels necessary in the current world. Seeing people as more human has always been a good thing.”
Producer Lysandra Petersson hopes the series provides a balance from the cynicism in much of today’s media.
“I hope that that’s what people take away from it is just the idea that there’s a lot of people out there working to make positive change,” said Petersson. “My hope has always been that the show will inspire people to take a seed of an idea and plant it in their own community and see if it blossoms.”
About
Deep Structure Productions in an independent film studio is based in Staunton.
VPM provides programming in news, education, arts and culture in Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. As part of the Republican-led Congressional cuts to the Center for Public Broadcasting, its budget took an approximately $1.3 million hit, or six percent of its annual revenue.
“We uplift local voices, whether that’s been podcasting, social media, broadcast, all of the platforms. We are public. We’re accountable to the public. We tell public stories, and it’s a really sad day to me for this country that that is something that we feel like we just don’t value anymore,” VPM President and CEO Jayme Swain told 12 News.
Life in the Heart Land, season three trailer
There are many familiar faces in the season three trailer including leaders from the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission, LIFEworks Project and the Deerfield Community Center, to name a few.
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Crystal Graham
