Today the last vestiges of citrus farming around Redlands and Riverside in Southern California evoke a way of life that once defined the California dream. Orange groves framed by palm trees and snow capped mountains drew legions of migrants, rich and poor, from smokestack cities of the east and Midwest from the late 1800s through the 1950s. Orange Sunrise tells the history of an industry and a way of life.
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A year in the making, Orange Sunrise explains how citrus once blanketed Southern California and defined the California Dream for the rest of America and beyond. The one-hour documentary by award-winning Inland Empire filmmaker Peter Coonradt also explores efforts to preserve local citrus farming in the face of exploding development and the pressures of the global economy.