Experiencing Interruptions?

Dry Roast

Sisters Carmelina and Flora Ramos Garcia, both in their late 50s, have been growing some of the world's best coffee in the Western Highlands of Guatemala for over 30 years. But over the last five years, climate change-related impacts including coffee leaf fungus and severe drought have decimated the country's crop, eliminating over 100,000 jobs in Guatemala between 2012-2016. This dramatic shift has spurred more out-migration of males and youth to the U.S. -- including Flora & Carmelina's children -- leaving them behind to face a new normal.

  • Lauren Schwartzman
    Director
  • Emily Thomas
    Director
  • Lauren Schwartzman
    Producer
  • Emily Thomas
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Environment, Latin America, Food, Sustainability
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 15, 2017
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Guatemala
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Borrego Springs Film Festival
    Borrego Springs, CA
    United States
    January 8, 2018
Director Biography - Lauren Schwartzman, Emily Thomas

Lauren Schwartzman and Emily Thomas created this video as master’s candidates in the documentary film program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where they graduated in May 2018.

Emily has worked for Jigsaw Productions and is a freelance video journalist and independent documentary filmmaker. She is also currently an investigator for the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley. She was previously a senior journalist for Storyful covering breaking news both domestic and international. Prior to Storyful, she was a news editor and staff writer for The Huffington Post. Her written work and video work has been published in VICE, POV, and Esquire.

Lauren has worked for Pureland Pictures and New Day Films. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama from 2013-2015. In 2013, her short documentary, The Urban Forest: San Luis Obispo, CA, won Best Documentary Film under 30 minutes and Best Film under 30 minutes in the Central Coast Filmmakers portion of the SLO International Film Festival.

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Director Statement

This is the vital story behind your cup of coffee.