Wine Crush (Vas-y Coupe!) is a beautifully observed portrait of seasonal labor at a family-owned vineyard in France.
Every year for the harvest, a motley team of laborers travels from the north of France to the celebrated Selosse vineyard in the Champagne region. Many of them have been picking these grapes for a quarter century and, though the work can be grueling, there is a cherished comfort in the comradery, the lovingly prepared meals and the late-night partying. But as the winemaker begins to hand over the business to his son – and younger workers increasingly join the team – it is unclear if this harvest tradition can endure.
Weaving intimate vérité scenes through the whirlwind labor of the harvest, Wine Crush (Vas-y Coupe!) is an immersive and affectionate look at a revolutionary natural Champagne-maker and his loyal workers, and an exploration of French social class, tradition and community.
Laura Naylor (Writer/Director/Producer) fell for images, moving and not-so-mobile, while studying art at Columbia. Her directorial debut, Duck Beach -- a feature documentary about Mormon singles trying to tie-the knot -- premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival and aired on BBC 3 in the UK. Her second feature, The Fix, premiered at AFI Docs, won the jury prize for Best Documentary at the Soho International Film Festival, and was hailed a “poignant portrait of life in recovery” by The Hollywood Reporter. After animating a stop-motion sequence for one of her docs, she said YES PLEASE to creating tiny worlds. Her stop-motion adaptation of Melville's Bartleby received an Opportunity Grant from New York Foundation for the Arts and premiered at the 2017 Aspen Shortsfest.