"In our clinical experience, children raised in naturist environments often have a higher level of body acceptance and lower rates of body dysmorphia," Dr. Armitage states in the film. "On this farm, the children are supervised, but free. They swim in the pond naked. They do chores naked. It is shocking only because our culture has sexualized the baseline human form."
"We wanted to show that nudity is the baseline," says the director. "Once the shock wears off (and it wears off fast), you stop seeing skin. You see connection. You see the father teaching the son how to drive the tractor. You see the mother laughing with the neighbor about the price of eggs. That is the freedom." A frequent concern regarding family nudism is the safety and psychological impact on children. The film handles this head-on, with an exclusive interview from child psychologist Dr. Simone Armitage, who appears as a consultant in the movie. "In our clinical experience, children raised in naturist
The crew was required to be nude for the first hour of each shooting day to "level the field." The sound engineer, a veteran of R-rated films, admitted in an exclusive diary entry (shared with us) that it was the most terrifying and then liberating professional experience of his life. They swim in the pond naked
"That," Van der Berg says, "is freedom. And it took a farm, a family, and a little bit of courage to show it." The film is currently on the festival circuit, seeking distribution. However, an exclusive extended cut—featuring 20 more minutes of farm life, including a nude cider-pressing workshop and a sunrise yoga session in the cow pasture—will be available for streaming on the "True Nature Network" starting next spring. "Once the shock wears off (and it wears
For the first time, an exclusive new film (working title: "Fields of Freedom" ) goes behind the hedgerows to document the daily reality of families who practice social nudity on a working farm. We secured an early screening and an exclusive interview with the director, Henrik Van der Berg, to discuss why this "moviel" (as his Dutch-inflected production notes call it) is breaking taboos and redefining family vacation. Nudism, or naturism, is often misunderstood. For the uninitiated, it conjures images of crowded, clinical beaches. But for the families featured in this exclusive documentary, naturism is not about exhibitionism; it is about vulnerability, equality, and sensory immersion.