If you have ever heard a news story that you just can\’t get off your mind, you can relate to Tennessee based filmmaker, Marshall Burnette\’s experience. He was driving home at 2 a.m., listening to NPR when he heard of a tragic accident where 2 of 3 boys died while working in a Southern Illinois corn bin. Thoughts of the tragedy led to thoughts about the effect on the farming community and farmers–\”living on the edge of the real world\”. That inspiration, triggered from an NPR newscast in the middle of the night led to making a short film that was featured at a prestigious Film Festival in Manhattan and a full length movie in the works. He describes the story as a “meditation on life in a small Midwest town disrupted by a grain entrapment\” and the feelings of a young farmer and a high school Senior on the risks and rewards of a corn farmer’s life. The filmmaker/director of Silo: Edge of the Real World, Marshall Burnette, tells us about the journey, filming in a small farming community, the future of farm movies, and what he likes about rural America.
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