Hearts of Glass - A Vertical Farm Takes Root in Wyoming is an informative, engaging feature-length doc screening at the 2019 ReelAbilities Pittsburgh Film Festival this week during the fest's week-long run. 

Directed by Jennifer Tennican, the film follows the tumultuous first 15 months of the operating of Vertical Harvest, a state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse that provides local crops as well as competitive wage employment for people with disabilities. In a world here stats often show the unemployment rate among working age adults with disabilities to be 75-80%, it's innovative efforts like Vertical Harvest that are starting to creatively make a difference by tapping into one of the most under-utilized and underappreciated employee populations. 

The story that unfolds in Hearts of Glass is engaging, partly because of Tennican's filmmaking and partly because these employees work beautifully together in this magnificent setting that is groundbreaking in a number of ways. There's a collaborative spirit here, a positivity that radiates through even in the business's more challenging times yet Tennican makes sure the film never gets overly schmaltzy or overly sentimental. 

In short, these are folks who just want to work and Vertical Harvest has created that opportunity. 

The 2019 ReelAbilities Pittsburgh Film Festival runs September 4-11, 2019. For more information, visit the festival's official website. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic