The Harvest (2011)

What does it mean to take a wild animal's life? For a child with a life-threatening medical condition, whose greatest wish is to become a hunter, the answer is both powerful and personal. The Harvest, a documentary film by Gabriel DeLoach, joins three such children and the organization that supports them as they make this dream come true. The Harvest follows Arianna, Tyler, and Casey as they fulfill their wishes to hunt turkey, black bear, and elk. The film introduces Tina Patterson, who founded Hunt of a Lifetime, the controversial group sponsoring these trips, after the Make-A-Wish Foundation denied her dying son's request to hunt moose. The story also looks deep into America's hunting culture, where a reverence for nature exists alongside the desire to kill. Yet most indelibly, the film portrays three extraordinary individuals and their families as they enter the wilderness to claim their share of the harvest. A journey to the point where life and death meet, The Harvest offers a provocative yet respectful look at children who lose their innocence and become hunters.