Bon Voyage Vitis becomes ODYSSEY OF FORBIDDEN WINES - exile and rebirth of American grapes
Watching Vitis prohibita in France in 2019, I was transfixed by the natural beauty and human pathos portrayed in the story of American grapevines there.
Fighting in the battle against phylloxera with their roots and providing wine to isolated communities with their grapes, these vines are not on vacation--they are doing a job.
The film left me wondering. What happened to these same grapes in America? The short answer is that they disappeared. I made it my mission to find them.
I envisioned producing an upbeat video travelogue about chasing vinous vagabonds across the ocean. Bon Voyage Vitis captured this idea.
However, the socioeconomic factors that have proscribed these grapes at home and abroad does not fit neatly into a simple travel documentary.
The fact that selling an Isabella wine could be a conduit for jail in the US past time and in Europe today is sobering.
“Bon voyage” no longer applies to what for me has become a dynamic odyssey of discovery that spans two centuries and three continents.
Exile leads to finding new homes and home is where people love you.
In our film, you will see it through the grapevines.
Lucie Morton
