California Lutheran University will present a documentary on a large urban farm and a discussion with the farmers who fought its closure at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 19.

“The Garden” will be screened in Lundring Events Center in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center as part of the Reel Justice Film Series. Several of the farmers involved will participate in a post-screening discussion.

The 2008 film, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, tells the story of one of the country’s largest urban farms, backroom deals, land developers, green politics, money, poverty, power and racial discord. The documentary by Scott Hamilton Kennedy explores the fault lines in American society and raises crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.

The 14-acre South Central Farm, also known as the South Central Community Garden, started as a form of healing after the L.A. riots and operated from 1994 to 2006 in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. The farm was sold in 2004 and the farmers were evicted in 2006. The farmers, mostly immigrants from Latin America, disputed the validity of the sale in court and staged protest vigils.

CLU's Center for Equality and Justice is sponsoring the free event. For more information, contact Sam Thomas at (805) 493-3693 or sthomas@callutheran.edu.