FILM UPDATE: Garden on the Move

A Half-Hour Documentary Explores the Unprecedented Feat of Merging Two World-Class Plant Collections

Interview with Pedro Pablo Celedón, Founder & Director, Barefoot Productions Photos Courtesy of Barefoot Productions

1. Tell me about the "Garden on the Move" film.

"Garden on the Move" follows the story of the Wallace Desert Garden Collection's move to its new location at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. The film presents audiences with the challenges facing the relocation of an entire botanical garden, the move of close to 6,000 plants and trees from the Wallace Desert Garden to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Both garden founders, H.B. Wallace and Colonel Thompson, loved the desert environment and were committed to finding ways arid land plants could benefit mankind. It seems fitting that although the gardens were started 75 miles from each other and eighty years apart, together, they are much more than the sum of their parts and will further the founders' original intent.

GOTM explores why these plants are important, why biodiversity is essential, and why moving this garden to its new location was vital to its survival. But questions and dilemmas aren't the only things this film has to offer; it also provides unique solutions to issues raised by climate change, food security, and water shortages.

2. How did the film project get started?

In 2015, my company, Barefoot Productions, was brought on to produce a 5-minute video for the Wallace Desert Gardens in Scottsdale, AZ. The original project was to document the dismantling of their 6,000+ piece collection of rare, full-grown desert plants and trees, which were being donated to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, located 75 miles away in Scottsdale.

It quickly became apparent that there existed a much larger story than a physical move across Arizona, as dramatic as that already was. That original short-form video was used to raise funds. The short aroused enough interest to produce this half-hour documentary, which explores more than just the allure and value of desert ecosystems. In this new format, we wanted to bring to the forefront the personalities and pathways involved in passing the baton from one idiosyncratic garden to another, along with all the unprecedented work required for the literal merger of two astounding plant collections.

3. How long have you been working on it?

We got involved with this project in November 2015, and the film will be completed in time for the opening of the new Wallace Desert Garden at BTA in late March 2020. That means it’s been about five years!

4. What was an eye-opening experience you had while working on this film?

The most impactful experience throughout this project has been simply in the observation of such a robust desert landscape. We seem to hold this idea that deserts are monotonous and inhospitable, when in reality, if you come close enough, they truly are wonderlands of vitality, variety, and beauty.

My crew and I spent roughly four and a half years going to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and the Sonoran Desert, in every season, and we quickly came to understand how alive this ecosystem is. 5. When do you expect the film to premiere and where?

We’re hoping to hold the premiere of our documentary, Garden on the Move, as part of the activities planned for the grand opening of the new Wallace Desert Garden at BTA in March of 2020.

Superior, AZ Mayor and Board Member, Mila Besich, trying the new virtual reality headset with an education guide video created by Barefoot Productions

6. While meeting with you, you showed me a video of Superior Mayor and BTA Board Member Mila Besich and Board Member Joe Giacobazzi trying out the VR headset with a virtual tour of the garden. Tell me more about this project, and where can the public find this?

The Garden on the Move Educational Guide is an evergreen toolkit that has the potential of reaching hundreds of thousands of students and their families across Arizona and beyond. Instructional units will integrate specially shot and edited sequences from Garden on the Move to better engage students in their scientific, artistic, and historical investigations.

We have a special team working with educators and curriculum specialists to align these virtual reality videos to nationally accredited teaching standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards, Core Concept State Standards for Language Arts, the National Core Standards for Visual Arts, and History Standards.