Executive producer and co-founder Bonnie Goldfarb has announced that harvest is closing after 25 years in commercial production. The shop–which she and director Baker Smith launched in spring of 2001–has been an industry mainstay, garnering assorted honors including Grand Prix distinction at Cannes, Gold, Silver and Bronze Cannes Lions, Clios, D&AD Pencils, AICP/MoMA inductions and New York Festival Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Smith is an accomplished director as underscored by his winning the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials. Meanwhile Goldfarb is a leading industry executive. A longtime member of the DGA as a UPM and first assistant director, Goldfarb has had an enduring impact on the industry beyond her work at harvest. She, for example, continues to serve on the board of the California Film Commission and has been an advisory board member of Green the Bid. She’s been a champion of reducing carbon footprint and achieving sustainability in commercial production.
Not feeling that a traditional press release was the appropriate vehicle to announce the news of harvest closing up shop, Goldfarb said, “Director and co-founder Baker Smith and I are ready to move on, move forward. Today this message can only be communicated via our poetic voices.”
She and Smith shared the lyrics of Tom Petty’s “Time to Move On”:
“It’s time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It’s time to move on, it’s time to get going”
And then Goldfarb and Smith penned a message in the form of a poem to friends and colleagues:
“Ahhh, this journey awaits us
harvest
has been
undeniably a beautiful and fulfilling
adventure and an outlet for us to share our
creative
prowess
and
our deep commitment to
integrity
ethics
honesty
and love
of
our
crews
agencies
clients
and
each other
we have great memories to share
to lean on
to learn from
and we both know it is
time to move on
excitement
is
all
around
don’t be strangers
don’t be sad
it’s
a
great
feeling
to let go
and live
life
for awhile
thank all
of
YOU”
Industry accolades
Here’s a fuller rundown of industry honors bestowed upon harvest during its 25-year run:
23 AICP/MoMA Inductions
4 AICP/MoMA Shortlist
1 Cannes Grand Prix
3 Cannes Gold Lions
1 Cannes Silver Lion
2 Cannes Bronze Lions
4 Cannes Finalists
22 Cannes Shortlists
5 D&AD Gold Pencils
2 D&AD Silver Pencils
4 D&AD Bronze Pencils
1 Production Company of the Year – Clio
1 Hall of Fame Clio
4 Gold Clios
4 Silver Clios
11 Bronze Clios
1 Directors Guild of America Win
2 Directors Guild of America Nominations
1 Emmy Award
1 Eurobest Grand Prix
1 Hollywood Radio & TV Award
1 Richard t.O’reily Award
1 Beast Campaign Andy
2 Silver Andys
2 Bronze Andys
1 NY Festival Grand Award
3 NY Festival Gold Awards
4 NY Festival Silver Awards
10 NY Bronze Awards
I Gold LIAA
I Silver LIAA
4 Shortlist LIAA
5 Finalist LIAA
Publisher’s note: Having met Bonnie in the early days of harvest, we became fast friends and confidants. It’s been a pleasure to cover harvest all these years. Always a strong advocate for new talent, we appreciate that harvest was an early and consistent supporter of the annual SHOOT New Directors Showcase Event at the DGA in NYC, with Bonnie providing insightful commentary as a speaker over the years. For a fun look at Bonnie’s reflections on the industry click here for her participation in SHOOT’s 65th Anniversary series published late last year.
–Roberta Griefer, publisher & editorial director



