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Award-Winning Documentary Begins Statewide Screening Tour

September 4, 2019

Hearts of Glass Film Screening“A compelling and timely story that enhances the Wyoming narrative and promotes engaged and inclusive communities.”

– Shannon Smith, Executive Director, Wyoming Humanities

Hearts of Glass, JenTen Productions’ award-winning new documentary, will be coming to a town near you this fall. The seven-stop screening and discussion tour is being supported in part by a grant from ThinkWY|Wyoming Humanities.

Hearts of Glass follows the tumultuous first 15 months of operation of Vertical Harvest of Jackson Hole, a social impact business with a dual mission: growing produce year-round in a challenging mountain environment and providing meaningful employment for people with disabilities

“For me, Hearts of Glass represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share a story of possibilities unfolding in my own backyard,” said Jennifer Tennican, the film’s director and producer. “Prepare to be transported. This is as close to being part of a high-tech agricultural startup and social experiment as many of us will ever get. It will challenge your perceptions about abilities, the benefits of meaningful employment and the power of inclusion.”

Hearts of Glass reveals the highs and lows of an innovative startup. It also offers an intimate look into the professional and personal lives of an often overlooked population in our communities. The film is as much about sustainable food production as it is about social entrepreneurship, disability advocacy and community inclusion.

“These thematic intersections are an opportunity to create new communities and connections,” Tennican said. “I want viewers to be swept up by the momentum and, at times, the chaos of this startup; I want viewers to appreciate the nuances of each character’s personality; and, I want viewers to be inspired by how one Wyoming community is dealing with pressing social and environmental issues.”

The film will be screened at colleges across the state this September and October:

Students, faculty and the general public are invited to see the film and stay for a panel discussion following each screening. The panel will reflect an inclusive mix of participants, including the film’s director, Vertical Harvest employees and local experts from the community and/or hosting academic institution. Wyoming Public Media’s Micah Schweizer, Kamila Kudelska and Catherine Wheeler will moderate the events in Laramie, Powell and Sheridan, respectively. The morning after the screening, Tennican and Vertical Harvest employees will visit college classrooms for a more in-depth discussion in an intimate, focused academic setting.

“Hearts of Glass reminds us that when people come together to do good things, good things happen,” said Kate Muir Welsh, Director at the University of Wyoming’s Social Justice Research Center. “Vertical Harvest is growing justice in the Jackson Hole valley by employing very capable people and  responding to community needs. Hearts of Glass will inspire you to do good things in your  community.”

Hearts of Glass had its world premiere at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Northern California in January and has traveled to film festivals across the country since. Wild & Scenic Film Festival called the film “a breath of fresh air — inspiring, heart-warming and joyful,” and it won Best Feature Documentary at the Black Hills Film Festival in South Dakota.

For more information on the film, visit HeartsOfGlassFilm.com or follow the film on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

If you’d like to set up an interview with Jen Tennican reach out to her directly by email (jen@jentenproductions.com) or phone (307-690-2258).

For high-resolution images of the poster and from the film, please visit bit.ly/WyTourPRimages2.

Want to share “Hearts of Glass” with your organization?

If you’re interested in bringing Hearts of Glass to your organization in the future, please contact director Jennifer Tennican at jen@jentenproductions.com or 307-690-2258.

A thanks to our sponsors and community outreach partners

In addition to Wyoming Humanities, the University of Wyoming is instrumental in making this tour possible. A special thanks to UW’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Office of Engagement and Outreach, Social Justice Research Center, and Wyoming Institute for Disabilities.

Various Wyoming businesses and foundations have also contributed to the tour, including First Interstate Bank, CLB Architects, Town Square Inns of Jackson Hole, Homer A. & Mildred S. Scott Foundation, ZipGrow, as well as additional local sponsors for each stop.

Individuals have also helped make the tour a reality. Supporters include the Laakmann Family, Ralph and Louise Haberfeld, David and Lesyle Hardie, Mickey Babcock, Connie Kemmerer, Stan and Barbara Trachtenberg, Todd and Arlene Kelly and Nancy Guthrie.

Learn more about us and our partners

JenTen Productions is led by Jennifer Tennican, who began making documentary films in the late 1990s in Boston before moving to Jackson, Wyoming in 2002. She is committed to sharing local stories with national and international resonance. Her films focus on identity, inclusion and conservation. Ms. Tennican’s award-winning work, including The Stagecoach Bar: An American Crossroads and Far Afield: A Conservation Love Story, has been featured in numerous film festivals and distributed nationally by American Public Television.

Wyoming Humanities is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and is our state’s affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Their purpose is to use the humanities to strengthen our democracy, enhance the Wyoming narrative, and promote engaged communities. We are a statewide organization that strives to serve all 23 counties and 99 communities of Wyoming every year. We use the   humanities to ask questions that give insight into the human experience by analyzing the past, exploring the present, and thinking about the future. Through our work, the humanities help the citizens of Wyoming take a closer look at life.

Vertical Harvest responds to two significant needs in the mountain community of Jackson Hole: year- round, local produce and meaningful, competitively paid employment for people with disabilities. This 13,500 square foot hydroponic greenhouse is located on a town-owned, 1/10 of an acre lot in the heart of Jackson, Wyoming. Vertical Harvest sells locally grown, fresh vegetables to Jackson-area restaurants, grocery stores and consumers.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion endeavors to make the University of Wyoming a leading institution comprised of people representing all social identities experiencing a welcoming environment where everyone can find what they need to thrive. Outreach to individuals with  disabilities, underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in higher education, veterans, varieties of world views and genders, and other diverse social identities are fundamental to attaining this vision of inclusion.

The Social Justice Research Center at the University of Wyoming is an interdisciplinary center dedicated to the generation of scholarship connected to addressing practical and theoretical questions arising from the pursuit of social justice, in the belief that when any group experiences injustice, democratic ideals are at risk.

The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities  (WIND) is an academic unit in the College of Health Sciences and a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the University of Wyoming. WIND works to assist individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, professionals, and University of Wyoming students through education, training, community services, and early intervention.

The Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming advances the understanding and resolution of complex environmental and natural resource challenges. It supports students as well as citizens, stakeholders, and decision makers by giving them the skills and tools they need to build durable, inclusive solutions to our most pressing environment and natural resource challenges.

The Office of Engagement and Outreach at the University of Wyoming has been created to be a portal of access to UW for the citizens of Wyoming (and beyond) and to coordinate and streamline engagement and outreach efforts to achieve enhanced consistency, follow-through, and impact.

First Interstate Bank is a community bank headquartered in Billings, Montana. With 146 offices across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming, we’re dedicated to helping these diverse communities reach their greatest potential—answering the needs of residents and businesses with practical financial solutions.

CLB Architects is an architecture firm founded over two decades ago in Jackson Hole. The firm specializes in residential, commercial and public projects, and offers full-service interior design and land-planning out of studios in Wyoming and Montana. The firm’s philosophy is “inspired by place.”

Town Square Inns offers four hotel locations in the heart of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Homer A. and Mildred S. Scott Foundation is a private charitable foundation located in Sheridan, Wyoming, established by area ranchers Homer and Mildred Scott in 1982.

ZipGrow’s mission is to design and manufacture the most economically viable, resource-efficient, and productive hydroponic equipment possible for people who believe in smarter, local food sources and want to participate in changing how people think about and access food.

Wyoming Public Media (WPM) is a public broadcasting state network licensed to the Trustees of the University of Wyoming. WPM programming is primarily news, classical music, contemporary music, jazz, entertainment programs. Wyoming Public Radio is the state’s only member of National Public Radio and an affiliate of Public Radio International and American Public Media. WPM is a service of the University of Wyoming. Its mission is to connect Wyoming through news and cultural programming  that informs, inspires, and educates.

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