Fruit of the Desert

Production Announcement

Documentary highlighting New Mexico’s ancestral chile peppers wraps production

‘Fruit of the Desert’ explores endangered native chile varieties,
the communities preserving them

SANTA FE - The documentary, “Fruit of the Desert,” wrapped production, exploring New Mexico’s endangered ancestral chile varieties and the communities working to preserve them.

The film wrapped is directed by Arman Cole (“Small Arms”) and produced by Tabitha McDonald (“Sunlight,” “The Mold”), with Charles Havlik, Ph.D., of New Mexico State University serving as consulting producer. The documentary was co-produced with the Flower Hill Institute of Jemez Pueblo and employed approximately 15 crew members.

Filmed across northern New Mexico, including the Jemez Mountains, Chimayó, and the Española Valley, “Fruit of the Desert” centers on native chile pepper varieties known as “landraces,” or chile nativo, cultivated by Puebloan and Hispanic farmers for more than four centuries.

While southern New Mexico’s Hatch Valley dominates the commercial chile market, northern New Mexico’s landraces are grown in small quantities and valued for their distinctive terroir and range of flavors. Central to traditional New Mexican cuisine, these varieties now face threats from market pressures, climate change, and urbanization.

Through intimate portraits of farmers, chefs, seed savers, and home cooks, “Fruit of the Desert” reveals how these chiles bind communities together and anchor disappearing foodways. "The film captures a fragile world and its quiet moments," Cole stated, "when aging farmers kneel in ancestral fields, when grandmothers pass down recipes to their grandchildren, when hunters follow ancient trails through old-growth forest, and when communities gather beneath wide Western skies to cook, eat, sing, and celebrate the gifts of the earth."

“This documentary is a powerful and necessary tribute to the agricultural heritage that defines New Mexico,” Steve Graham, director of the New Mexico Film Office, said. “By showcasing the dedication of our Pueblo and village farmers and the unique flavor of these landrace chiles, this project reinforces the deep connection between our land, our culture, and our people. We are honored to support filmmakers who tell such vital New Mexico stories.”