EXCLUSIVE – From midday today, visitors can feast their eyes on lashings of goodies at Slow Food on Film.
The Sala Officinema/Mastroianni will re-screening two films in the Docs Competition: Mariana Herrera Bellido’s Sawasiray-Pitusiray (Perù, 2006), the story of an old community in the two sacred snow mountains of the Peruvian Andes, and King Corn (USA, 2007), directed by Aaron Wolf and Curtis Ellis, the tale of two friends who buy a hectare of land to grow ‘King Corn’ as a hands-on investigation into this American diet staple.
To follow, an opportunity not to be missed to see Marc Perkin’s much talked about BBC series Cooking in the Danger Zone (UK, 2007), with Stefan Gates, which will be shown in the Sala Scorsese from 4.15pm.
At 5pm Italian comedy actor Vito will lead one of the first food workshops of the festival, after which, back at the Sala Scorsese, viewers will be treated to Food Fight by Chris Taylor (USA, 2007). The film follows the development of American agricultural policies and food culture in the 20th century and shows how the organic movement in California started a real revolution against the mainstream food industry. After the screening, visitors will have the chance to speak to Alice Waters, vice-president of Slow Food International, and director Chris Taylor himself.
At 8pm the Cinema Arlecchino will stage the Italian premiere of Sik Gaek by Jeon Yun-Su (South Korea, 2007), up for Best Food Feature, the story of a Japanese bureaucrat who takes a particularly famous knife back to Korea. It is a knife with which the last Korean royal chef cut his hands rather than have to cook for the invaders. The film goes on to document a competition among chefs in which the prize is this precious knife.
Thursday will come to an end at MAMbo, the Modern Art Museum in Bologna, with ‘Fish in Bolognese Cuisine’, a tasting featuring anchovies, sardines, mackerel and cod.
Over the days of the festival, Slow Food will be replacing popcorn and other cinema junk food with healthier options at all screenings: small servings of Parmigiano-Reggiano, biscuits from Castellammare (Naples), pralines from Ferrara and delicacies from Sicilian Slow Food presidia, such as Noto almonds (Siracusa), Bronte pistachio nuts (Catania) and the Cuddriredda biscuits from Delia (Caltanisetta).
Slow Food on Film, International Festival of Food and Film, Bologna, May 7-11 2008
To find out more
www.slowfoodonfilm.com
Victoria Blackshaw
[email protected]