Short portrait of a hungry seagull outside a sausage stand.
Social & External
The people behind it
In Ramen Heads, Osamu Tomita, Japan's reigning king of ramen, takes us deep into his world, revealing every single step of his obsessive approach to creating the perfect soup and noodles, and his relentless search for the highest-quality ingredients.
This short film reveals the story behind oatmeal cookies, from the farmer's field to fresh from the oven. Without words.
State of Bacon tells the kinda real but mostly fake tale of an oddball group of characters leading up to the annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. Bacon-enthusiasts, Governor Branstad, a bacon queen, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, members of PETA, and an envoy of Icelanders are not excluded from this bacon party and during the course of the film become intertwined with the organizers of the festival to show that bacon diplomacy is not dead.
An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.
The film takes us to the North of England to follow the migration of the black-headed gull down to London. There, the narrator asks viewers to "listen to their gossip", before demonstrating the bird’s flight in slow motion. We see a polecat feasting on gull eggs, and then a man collecting the eggs for human consumption, with the film telling us that they are considered a “delicacy” in London. Indeed, according to the British Trust for Ornithology, around 300,000 gull’s eggs were sold every year in Leadenhall Market in London during the 1930s, when London Visitors was made.
The boundless joy and unabashed passion of master gelato-maker Sergio Dondoli take center stage in this exuberant tribute to the delights of food, creativity, and a life well-lived. 'Sergio Dondoli's Happy Life' chronicles the rise of Dondoli and his world-famed Tuscan gelateria. What emerges is a portrait of a man who started from the humblest beginnings yet found a way to cultivate sweetness in all its forms through his life's work.
Farmers alone cannot make our food system thrive - it’s up to all of us. That is the message of this enlightening and encouraging film. The good stewardship efforts being made by farmers, consumers and policy makers in the rapidly growing county of Ventura, California will inspire any community interested in preserving agricultural resources.
The last ten years have seen a phenomenal explosion in the organic food movement as it has moved from niche market to mainstream. Today, it is the fastest growing segment of the food industry attracting all of the major food corporations. THE NEW GREEN GIANTS looks at a number of these new and old organic corporations and shows how they are managing, or in some cases, failing to live up to the idealistic dreams first espoused by the back-to-the land folk of the late sixties and early seventies. The documentary also looks at some of the bigger questions surrounding organic food. Is it really healthier? Is it truly organic? Is it possible to grow from a mom-and-pop operation to become a huge supplier of major grocery chains? Is it actually sustainable? Is it realistic to think the world can be fed organically?
From the Black Earth is a collaboration between Bristol based company Cables and Cameras, and a local farmer Humphrey Lloyd. Employing both lucid speakers and poetic camera work, the film poses stark questions such as; why does food poverty exist in a nation of plenty, and why are people of colour so under represented not only in our countryside and farms, but in the environmental movement more broadly? By giving a platform to people of colour who are connecting with nature and working the land, this short documentary starts to unpick these questions...
Pelican, a bakery located at Asakusa, Tokyo, becomes crowded every morning. There are only two types of bread sold. It looks ordinary but meet a bakery that has been loved for 74 years with a taste you won't get tired of even if you eat it everyday!
The crews are called to shoot a film, but no one has the script, shooting schedule, food, or even actor. The director also has nothing but urge to film so as always, unpleasant things happened.
Gaz Oakley goes on a culinary journey across his home country of Wales & is blown away with what he finds.
In an age when every fast food place seems the same, diners have remained distinctive, fun places to stop, full of local flavor. This program takes a look at several of the most interesting diners in Pennsylvania, and also considers a few other roadside restaurants (like Midway Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike) that have interesting histories and reputations for good “home-cooked” food. So get a cup of coffee. Have a seat. And come along as we visit great little restaurants from Wellsboro to Downingtown, from Milford to Conneaut Lake. Let’s go to Potato City, to the Melrose in Philly and to unforgettable little places from Pittsburgh to Poconos. Whether it’s the middle of the night in State College or lunchtime in Smethport, this documentary gives you an unusual taste of Pennsylvania and some of its quirkier cuisine.
It is a documentary on food design, redefining food through the lens of creativity and design. The film features interviewees from Italy, Spain, Taiwan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
From the UFC Octagon in Las Vegas and the anthropology lab at Dartmouth, to a strongman gym in Berlin and the bushlands of Zimbabwe, the world is introduced to elite athletes, special ops soldiers, visionary scientists, cultural icons, and everyday heroes—each on a mission to create a seismic shift in the way we eat and live.
Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and supermarkets where it's sold. Narrated by author and activist Eric Schlosser, the film features interviews with average Americans about their dietary habits, commentary from food experts like Michael Pollan and unsettling footage shot inside large-scale animal processing plants.
A father teaches his daughter the ancient art of hand pulled noodles
Food in the 21st century has become much more than “meat and potatoes” and canned soup casseroles.” Chefs have gained celebrity status; recipes and exotic ingredients, once impossible to find, are now just a mouse click away; and the country's major cities are better known for their gastronomy than their art galleries. This food movement can be traced back to one man: James Beard. His name graces the highest culinary honor in the American food world today—the James Beard Foundation Awards. And while chefs all around the country aspire to win a James Beard Award, often referred to as the “culinary Oscars,” many of those same chefs know very little about the man behind the medal. Respected restaurateur Drew Nieporent summed it up when he said, “Everybody knows the name James Beard. They may not know who he is, but they know the name.”
All food can be adulterated. More discreet than a drug cartel, more elusive than arms dealers, criminals have taken over food. Olive oil, fish, meat, spices, no department escapes their juicy traffic. A jackpot estimated in Europe at 30 billion euros enriches a new kind of mafia every year. Organized crime is selling altered products in restaurants, supermarkets and all food shops in the European Union. Their secret is to replace an ingredient with a cheaper one. Who are these new traffickers? What are their methods of operation?
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
Passionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to marine species — and uncovers an alarming global conspiracy.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
A glimpse into the raw and simple power of nature through encounters with farm animals: the eponymous Gunda, a mother pig; two cows, and a one-legged chicken.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
This documentary follows superstar Bret Hart during his last year in the WWF. The film documents the tensions that resulted in The Montreal Screwjob, one of the most controversial events in the history of professional wrestling, in which Vince McMahon, Shawn Micheals, and others, legitimately conspired behind the scenes to go against the script and remove Bret Hart as champion.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
Interviews with leading authors, philosophers and scientists, with an in-depth discussion of the Law of Attraction. The audience is shown how they can learn and use 'The Secret' in their everyday lives.
Vanessa Guillen was 20 years old when she was found murdered at a US Army base. Rather than submit to silence, her family fought for justice and change.
