13 films from eight countries have been chosen for the first edition of Slow Food on Film DOC, a review of short films held in Bra, Italy, and dedicated to the memory of food and created in collaboration with the international Slow Food movement. The jury, chaired by Piero Sardo (President of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, Italy), includes Steven Kirsh (Reel Food Network, USA), Una Feely (Cork Film Festival, Ireland), Gabriella Pignatelli (documentary film maker, Italy/Australia) and Panos Nicolau (producer, Cyprus/USA). The winner will receive the ‘Golden Snail’ award and cash prize of 2,500 euros.
The theme of the DOC competition is the memory of food, with the shortlisted documentaries recounting stories of gastronomic traditions in danger of extinction in 30 minutes or less. The aim of the new competition is to create an international archive of the history of the knowledge of taste, and hence preserve a piece of our identity at risk of disappearing.
The archive will be housed at the new University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, near Bra. The films not chosen for viewing at the International Short Film Festival in Bra will also be stored in the archive (43 documentaries were submitted).
The Slow Food on Film DOC showings will begin in the evening of Thursday April 22, in the Metropolis room of the Cinema Vittoria, Bra. The films chosen are:
Thursday, April 22
PIEDRAS CALIENTES
Hot Stones
Francisco Klimscha
(Chile, 2004, DV, 13’01’’ col.)
The ancient Chilean practice of cooking on hot stones.
LA ZUCCA DI MASU
Masu’s Pumpkin
Minobu Wakiyama
(Japan, 2004, DV, 15’, col.)
Food as a daily ritual. Two women, a bit of idle chat and a pumpkin left to burn …
YUM, YUM, YUM!
Les Blank
(USA, 1990, 16mm, 30’, col.)
A journey through the Creole and Cajun flavors, music and smells of French Louisiana.
L’ACQUA CHE NON C’E’
No Water
Alessandra Speciale
(Italy/Burkina Faso, 2002, Beta SP, 15’, col.)
How people live where water is the most valuable commodity.
Friday, April 23
THE BLUE ALGAE OF THE DESERT
Le alghe blu del deserto
Antonello Proto
(Italy, 2003, Beta SP, 7’20’’, col.)
A FAO documentary on the artisan production of spirulina algae by the women of Lake Chad.
LA ZUPPA DI ZIO LUIGI E ALTRE RICETTE
Uncle Luigi’s Soup and Other Recipes
Gruppo Mannamanna
(Italy, 2003, DV, 20’, col.)
Gastronomic memories of Italy during World War II.
SAVING SEEDS
Semi da salvare
Joe York, Matt Bruder
(USA, 2003, DV, 19’50’’ col.)
For years Bill Best has collected tomato and bean seeds, saving the memory of the food he loves for generations to come.
DAZD NAM DNES
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Vladimir Perovic
(Serbia & Montenegro, 2001, Betacam, 19’10’’ col.)
The secular tradition of making liturgical bread: authentic works of edible art. The memory of food as sacred knowledge.
LA PITTA
Roberto Daffinà, Francesco Vaccaro
(Italy, 2004, DV, 7’10’’, col. e b/n)
The baking of Calabrese ‘pitta’ bread sent through the eyes a son estranged from the tradition.
OUR FOOD
Il nostro cibo
Amr El-Bayoumi
(Egypt, 2002, Beta Digit – 4/3, 15’, col.)
In Egypt, East and West meet and live together through their food.
VOCI DELLA MONTAGNA
Mountain Voices
Antonello Carboni
(Italy, 1998, Beta SP, 18’, col.)
The pace of a Sardinian cheesemaker’s work.
DOICHLANDA
Giuseppe Gagliardi
(Italy, 2003, Betacam, 45’, col.)
A musical-gastronomic diary of Calabrian restaurateurs in Germany.
NÄLÄN TIE
The Road of Hunger
Jouko Aaltonen
(Finland, 1999, Beta SP, 28’, col.)
Memories of the biggest famine in Finnish history.