Harvest Seasonprobes the lives of the multigenerational Latinos, temporary laborers, and permanent residents intimately connected to the production of premium wines in the Napa and Sonoma regions of Northern California — in the midst of one of the most dramatic grape harvests in recent memory.
Harvest Season follows the stories of people who are essential to the wine industry yet are rarely recognized for their contributions, including a veteran winemaker, a Mexican migrant worker, and a Latino wine entrepreneur, Vanessa Robledo, whose family has worked in the region for generations, and many other stories that unfold against the complex backdrop of reality in California’s Wine Country — a region of immense wealth that was accountable for $1.53 billion in export revenue in 2018.
A story usually hidden behind a more glamorous front, Harvest Season is an eye-opening reminder that every bottle of wine is filled with the blood, sweat, and tears of those who sacrifice to make it.
The Filmmaker
Bernardo Ruiz is a two-time Emmy®-nominated documentary filmmaker and member of the Academy. He was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. His directorial feature debut, Reportero (POV, 2013), about attacks on the press in Mexico, premiered at Full Frame (U.S.), IDFA (Europe) and Ambulante (Mexico). New York Magazine called it "a powerful reminder of how journalism often requires immense amounts of physical and psychological bravery." His second feature documentary Kingdom of Shadows (POV, 2016) premiered at SXSW in the U.S. and IDFA in Europe. The New York Times called it "unforgettable." In the fall of 2015, Ruiz was a filmmaker in residence at the Investigative Reporting Program (IRP) at the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Previously he created and executive produced the two-part bilingual PBS series, The Graduates/Los Graduados (Independent Lens, 2013). Ruiz also wrote, directed and produced Roberto Clemente (American Experience, 2008) which was awarded the NCLR “Alma” Award for “Outstanding Made for Television Documentary."
Additional Cinematography
Spencer Chumbley
Antonio Cisneros
Clare Major
Jenni Morello
Claudio Rocha
Sound Recordists
Adriano Bravo
Jim Choi
Michael Martin
Assistant Camera
Ben Lunden
Mimi Wilcox
Assistant Editors
Sergio Noriega
Rebeccah Pope
Field Producer (California)
Melina Tupa
Field Producer (Mexico)
Steve Fisher
Consulting Producer, Development
Katia Maguire
Associate Producer, Development
Kayla Malahiazar
Open Title Design
Hanna Barczyk
Motion Graphics Designer
Mieka Jewett
Digital Intermediate Colorist
Stewart Griffin
Digital Intermediate Online Editor
Kevin Allen Caby
Digital Intermediate Producers
Caitlin Tartaro and Hannah Macdonald
Digital Intermediate Manager
Charlie Rokosny
Digital Intermediate Technical Supervisor
Sandy Patch
Digital Intermediate Executive Producer
Will Cox
Supervising Sound Editors
Mike Frank
Annie Medlin
Re-Recording Mixer
Mike Frank
Dialogue Editors
Mike Frank
Alex Loew
Sound Effects Editors
Annie Medlin
Alex Loew
Transcriptions
MoonCity Scripts, LLC
Legal
Karen Shatzkin
Accounting
Maryann Comuniello
Agata Maciaszczyk
Production Insurance
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co
Still Photography
Roberto “Bear” Guerra
Archival Materials Provided by
Dave Cannon
KGO
KPIX5
Leonard Nadel Photographs and Scrapbooks, Archives Center - National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
The National Border Patrol Museum, El Paso, Texas
Music
“Paddington”
Written by Volker Bertelmann
Performed by Hauschka
Published by La Chunga Music
Courtesy of FatCat Records
By Arrangement with Bank Robber Music
“North Brother Island”, “Agdam” and “Sanzhi Pod City”
Written by Volker Bertelmann
Performed by Hauschka
Published by Music Sales Corporation
o/b/o Needlewood Publishing
Courtesy of Temporary Residence Ltd.
By Arrangement with Bank Robber Music
“Ping”
Written by Volker Bertelmann
Performed by Hauschka
Published by Music Sales Corporation
Courtesy of FatCat Records
“Nature Fights Back”
Written by Volker Bertelmann
Performed by Hauschka
Published by Music Sales Corporation
o/b/o Needlewood Publishing
Courtesy of City Slang
Special Thanks
Alissa Abdo
Dr. Ernest Bates
The Brambila Family
Father John Brenkle
Amelia Ceja & Pedro Ceja
Jane Chung
Dan Dexter
Marc Farhang
Yasmine Farhang
Farmworker Housing Committee of Napa
Pat Garvey
Bruce Goldstein
La Luz Center
The Herrera Family
Carrie Lozano
Don Loeb
Francis and Kathy Mahoney
Hugo & Lidia Maldonado
Eddie Martinez
Father Ismael Mora
Terrence P. Mulligan
José Muñoz
Leslie Medine
Sandra Nichols, Ph.D.
Amanda Pike
Steve Potter
Rafael Ríos
The Robledo Family
Rosaura Segura
E. Donna Shepherd
L. Stephen Velasquez
Original Series Funding Provided by
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Wyncote Foundation
The National Endowment for the Arts
Harvest Season is a co-production of QUIET PICTURES, LLC and the Independent Television Service (ITVS) in association with Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
This program was produced by QUIET PICTURES, LLC which is solely responsible for its content.