John Rivers has spent more than 15 years working with farmers as founder and CEO of Winter Park-based 4 Rivers Smokehouse. He is featuring their stories and contributions in a documentary project that is also furthering the mission of his agricultural nonprofit, 4Roots Farm.
“Florida’s Finest” spans the diversity of the statewide farming community. Rivers serves as narrator and appears on camera, speaking with subjects ranging from produce growers to cattle ranchers and hydroponic farmers. “4Roots Farm is based on education,” Rivers told the32789. “And part of that education is showing the important role these people play in our lives.”
Plans for 4Roots Farm began in 2018 with a partnership between local providers, educators, and restaurateurs; all hoping to create a more equitable food system. The campus opened in 2022 as part of Orlando’s Packing District, located by the intersection of Princeton Street and Orange Blossom Trail. It incorporates a working farm, culinary health institute, and a café into its mission of “engaging the community to think more deeply about where and how food is grown, and why it matters.” Last year, 4Roots Farm received a $12 million Orange County Tourist Development Tax grant to fund capital projects. The money will go toward the addition of two planned facilities: an Event Center for community and private functions and an Event Lawn for farmers’ markets, concerts, and festivals.
The documentary began pre-production in 2019 with the help of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “We mostly work with Central Florida farmers, but they introduced us to farmers from all over Florida,” Rivers said. “It’s been great to get to know them and it’s been helpful, as a farm education campus, to have personal relationships with some of the top farmers from around the state.”
The first production stages were funded internally, but as with everything else in the early COVID era, plans changed. “I could only afford the first of three shoots, then 2020 hit and everything went to pot,” Rivers recalls. The search for additional funding sources began after pandemic restrictions eased. The green light came in late 2022 after a favorable review from Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson. “I met him in Tallahassee; we talked about (4Roots Farm) and the documentary came up,” Rivers said. “I showed him some footage, he absolutely loved it, and he eventually approved the funding for the next two-thirds of production.”
A 16-20-week editing process began last summer after an additional round of filming. More than one cut is in production as the film will be used for classroom education and for industry promotions. “We’d like to fit everyone into the final edit,” said director/producer Nick Nanton, “but it depends how well they all fit the story.”
Nanton has worked on more than 60 documentaries with his company, DNA Media, which is also based in Winter Park. His work has been shown in theaters and produced for streaming platforms including Netflix, Disney+ and iTunes. Nanton says the possibility of wide release and entry on the film festival circuit is not out of the question. “We always have that in mind, but it won’t dictate production. We’re trying to meet the objectives of the stakeholders, but if streaming and festivals become part of the plan, it’s because they work with those objectives.”
The first cut of the film was completed in late 2024 and delivered to the state. Another version for students and the main documentary are currently in the final stages of post-production. A 4.5-minute sizzle reel begins with third-generation citrus farmer Benny McLean recalling the work ethic his father wanted passed on to his great grandchildren. The segment encapsulates Rivers’ inspiration for the project.
“Behind every farm is a family,” Rivers said. “I thought it was important to tell their stories and to show the community the scale of their contributions.”
