Director’s Statement

My work tends to focus on the relationship between humankind, nature, and technology. “Feast or Famine” explores these themes in a physical, ethical, and spiritual way.

In 2008 I became aware of challenges the LaHave Bakery was experiencing. The price of wheat had skyrocketed while availability had become unpredictable.

The more I researched, the more I discovered how vulnerable our food system had become. I had no idea that we import 80% of our food.

Why are we so dependant on imported food? Why are we not feeding ourselves?

It soon became apparent that the problem is as complex as it is deep rooted.

Our society has embraced a system that favors quantity over quality, and convenience over community.

This moral erosion is causing the fabric of our society to rot. As we lust after a lifestyle that is both cheap and convenient, generations of hard learned knowledge slip through the cracks.

The people I interviewed reveal the founding characteristics of all successful societies: integrity, passion, and creativity.
The answer is here I discovered, on small, sustainably run diverse farms, where farming is both a way of life, and an art form.

There is much to be learned from these stewards of the land.
Will we listen… before it’s too late?

Bio: Timothy Barron Tracey

Writer/Director/Camera/Editor
Timothy Barron Tracey is a Halifax based independent filmmaker, born in 1980 near Lahave on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Winning a photography contest at the age of five provided his first camera. Soon he was drawing simple flip book animations and comic books. By the age of 15 he started a small paintball company, “Tribal Paintball,” creating and hosting scenario games that featured elaborate scripts, props and costumes. Profits were used to purchase an 8 mm video camera, allowing him to shoot his first film and explore stop-animation. He graduated with honors from the digital media design program at McKenzie College. Tim is an instructor at The Centre For Arts Tapes and the Owner/Operator of Machine Productions. He has spent the last two years as the Television Broadcast Technician at the University Of King’s College in Halifax.

“Feast or Famine” is his 13th self-funded film, a documentary exploring food security and the decline of farming in Nova Scotia. In a grassroots community-driven movement it has been well received by audiences across the province in schools, churches, and community centers. It is also used as curriculum in Dalhousie University’s College of Sustainability.