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Culinary Arts

Culinary Arts

CUBAN FOOD STORIES

Director: Asori Soto

After ten years living as an expat in the United States, Asori Soto decides to return to his homeland of Cuba to search for the missing flavors of his childhood. This is a journey to discover culinary traditions long thought lost due to the hardship that Cuba survived after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Cuban Food Stories is a unique film about food, society, and culture on the island of Cuba. Through nine stories, Asori Soto explores the present culinary landscape of his homeland and provides a glimpse into what the future may hold. It is a personal road-trip adventure all around the island to discover the most authentic tales behind the Cuban cuisine.

The film gives unprecedented access to regions so remote that one can only arrive by raft, horseback, or swimming. A journey that will leave your mouth watering as we go from the middle of nowhere to the big cities and rediscover the culinary roots of an exciting Cuba in a time of change.

DVD / 2018 / 82 minutes

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LAST SEASON, THE

Director: Sara Dosa

Every September over 200 seasonal workers, most of them Cambodian, Lao, Hmong, Mien and Thai, set up a temporary camp near the tiny town of Chemult, Oregon. They remain until the first snowfall, searching the lush woods of Klamath County for the rare matsutake, a fungus highly prized in Japan. This sensitive, probing documentary examines the bond between two of these hunters in one unusually hard season.

Elderly Roger Higgins is a Vietnam vet who returned from the war traumatized and alienated. "We couldn't get a job, so we made our own jobs. I would get out there in the woods and just work." Kouy Loch is a Cambodian immigrant whose experience as a starving slave laborer under the Khmer Rouge taught him the foraging skills that now afford him a living. The men cemented their relationship years before over the shared pain of their Southeast Asian experience, becoming almost like father and son as they traipsed through the trees together. But Roger is too sick to do much hunting this year, and Kouy must walk the forest on his own.

The Last Season contrasts the past with the present, the camaraderie of the mushroom hunters' camp with Higgins's remote home in the woods and the hope of a yearly treasure hunt with the vagaries of climate and falling prices. The result is a poetic film about friendship, nature and life.

DVD / 2014 / 78 minutes

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SEARCH FOR GENERAL TSO, THE

Directed by Ian Cheney

A quest to understand the origins of this ubiquitous, spicy red chicken dish and to explore the history of Chinese-American food.

This mouthwateringly entertaining film travels the globe to unravel a captivating culinary mystery. General Tso's Chicken is a staple of Chinese-American cooking, and a ubiquitous presence on restaurant menus across the country. But just who was General Tso? And how did his chicken become emblematic of an entire national cuisine?

Director Ian Cheney journeys from Shanghai to New York to the American Midwest and beyond to uncover the origins of this iconic dish, turning up surprising revelations and a host of humorous characters along the way. Told with the verve of a good detective story, THE SEARCH FOR GENERAL TSO is as much about food as it is a tale of the American immigrant experience.

DVD / 2014 / (Grades 7-12, College, Adults) / 73 minutes

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YEAR IN CHAMPAGNE, A

Director: David Kennard

The exploding cork. Endless tiny bubbles floating up and up in the glass. An indulgence. A celebration. A seduction. A triumph. This is the essence of Champagne, isn't it? But it's not just bubbles in a glass that makes the wine, or the mystique. Only sparkling wine produced within the boundaries of the Champagne region is truly "Champagne." At first glance, the region is not an obvious source of romance. Champagne's history is grim and bloody, swept by war and destruction from Attila the Hun to the filthy trenches of WWI and the Nazi depredations of WWII. The environment for winemaking is desperately hard - northerly latitude, chalky soil, copious rain, frost, rot. Yet it's these difficulties that help make the wine unique.

With renowned wine importer Martine Saunier as our guide, we get a rare glimpse behind the scenes into the real Champagne through six houses, from small independent makers like Champagne Saint-Chamant, where each and every bottle is still turned by hand in the cellars, to the illustrious houses of Gosset and Bollinger which have been instrumental in shaping the image of Champagne around the world.

DVD (English and French with English subtitles) / 2014 / 82 minutes

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SOMM

Director: Jason Wise

Somm takes the viewer on a humorous, emotional and illuminating look into the mysterious world of the Court of Master Sommeliers and their massively intimidating Master Sommelier Exam.

The Court of Master Sommeliers is one of the world's most prestigious and exclusive organizations. Since its inception, fewer than 200 candidates have reached the exalted Master level. The exam covers literally every nuance of the world of wine. Those who have passed have put their sanity at risk to pull it off. Shrouded in secrecy, access to the Court has always been strictly regulated, and cameras have never been allowed anywhere near the exam, until now. How much do you think you know about wine?

DVD / 2013 / 93 minutes

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RAW AND THE COOKED, THE

Director: Monika Treut

Taiwan is known for one of the most diverse cuisines in Asia. A sumptuous exploration of the island's culinary traditions and mix of cultures, the film begins in Taipei, circles the island, and then heads inland. Along the way we enter the restaurant Shin Yeh atop the city's Taipei 101 skyscraper; are treated to a lesson on eating soup dumplings; and visit an aboriginal chef who makes bouillabaisse within a tree trunk, cooked by heated stones.

DVD-R (Taiwanese with English Subtitles) / 2012 / 83 minutes

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BOOM VARIETAL

Director: Sky Pinnick

Originally from France, the Malbec grape found its perfect home in the dry Argentine climate. Its booming popularity has swept through North America and the world, reviving a varietal that nearly had been lost.

Documenting how a wine originally intended only for local consumption transformed into an international sensation, Boom Varietal talks to Malbec winemakers, wine connoisseurs, and the investors hoping to profit from the boom. Beautifully shot and with an original music score, Boom Varietal is an insider's look into the world of wine that will inspire not only your palate, but a love for Argentina's rich culture.

DVD (English and Spanish with English subtitles) / 2011 / 72 minutes

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LE CIRQUE: A TABLE IN HEAVEN

Director: Andrew Rossi

In this portrait of Le Cirque founder Sirio Maccioni and his three sons, director Andrew Rossi catches the family at a dramatic transition: the closing of the restaurant in 2004, its celebrated re-opening two years later followed by the nerve-wracking wait for restaurant critics to weigh in on their new incarnation. A must-see for anyone who is passionate about food and dining, this film shows us a family embroiled in the age-old struggle between father, sons, tradition and change.

DVD / 2011 / 74 minutes

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MATTER OF TASTE, A: SERVING UP PAUL LIEBRANDT

Director: Sally Rowe

A Matter of Taste follows talented young chef Paul Liebrandt for over a decade, revealing his creative process in the kitchen as well as the extreme dedication it takes to be a successful culinary artist in the cutthroat world of haute cuisine.

DVD / 2011 / 69 minutes

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THREE STARS

Directors: Lutz Hachmeister

Focusing on nine Michelin starred chefs from three continents, Three Stars depicts the everyday drama of life in gourmet restaurants and includes exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes access to some of the world's most talented chefs as they work in their gastronomic laboratories, hunt for exquisite ingredients in local markets, and gather rare edible plants along rough coastlines. It reveals the business of cooking on the highest level and highlights the various kitchen routines and culinary philosophies of chefs like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Yannick Alleno, and Olivier Roellinger.

DVD-R (Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese & Spanish with English Subtitles) / 2011 / 94 minutes

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KINGS OF PASTRY

Director: Chris Hegedus & D A Pennebaker

Imagine a scene never before witnessed: Sixteen French pastry chefs gathered in Lyon for three intense days of mixing, piping and sculpting everything from delicate chocolates to six-foot sugar sculptures in hopes of being declared by President Nicolas Sarkozy one of the best. This is the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition (Best Craftsmen in France). The blue, white and red striped collar worn on the jackets of the winners is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef - it is a dream and an obsession.

From Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker, the filmmakers who brought us MONTEREY POP, THE WAR ROOM and Bob Dylan in DON'T LOOK BACK comes this epic, never-before-filmed test of France's finest artisans as they work under constant scrutiny of master judges and the critical palates of some of the world's most renowned chefs. The film captures the high-stakes drama of the competition - passion, sacrifice, disappointment, and joy - in the quest to become one of theKINGS OF PASTRY.

DVD (English and French with English Subtitles) / 2010 / 84 minutes

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PRESSURE COOKER

Director: Jennifer Grausman & Mark Becker

There's a force-of-nature at Frankford High School in Philadelphia. Her name is Wilma Stephenson and she runs an infamous Culinary Arts "boot camp" for students. A teacher for 40 years, Wilma can be blunt and cantankerous - but beneath her tough exterior is a person who cares passionately about getting the best out of her kids.

Pressure Cooker documents an entire school year with Wilma and her students. At a school where over 40% of the students don't even make it to their senior year, Wilma shows her kids how to achieve her version of the American dream: Choose a realistic goal. Work hard. Work the system. And get out of Northeast Philly.

At the end of the year, culinary students from all over Philly compete in a one-day cook-off, where top chefs judge the students' skills and talent. Scholarships are on the line; success will depend upon how dedicated they've been over the last year - enduring stressful home lives while still finding the motivation to wake up at 6AM to get to class early enough to master crepes and tournee potatoes.

DVD / 2010 / 99 minutes

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RESTAURATEUR, THE

Director: Roger Sherman

This intimate film about Danny Meyer, one of America's preeminent restaurant owners, opens in the dining room of Eleven Madison Park in December, 2009. Meyer confides to the camera: "After Tabla and Eleven Madison Park opened, I was convinced I'd made one of the worst professional mistakes of my life." Fade to a vast, concrete space, January, 1998. A much younger-looking Meyer, with Tom Colicchio (chef of Gramercy Tavern), enters the site; Meyer gives him a tour of his hopes and dreams.

We follow the restaurateur and his team for a year as they experience gut-wrenching construction delays, miss deadlines, and fire a chef. We visit Tabla's chef Floyd Cardoz in his tiny home kitchen where he creates his now classic watermelon curry. We're there as chef Kerry Heffernan takes over EMP just weeks before opening.

Danny Meyer bares all in this portrait. Watching him and his inner circle, we witness first-hand how difficult it is to create a world-class restaurant. The Restaurateur is nothing like those reality shows. This is real.

DVD / 2010 / 57 minutes

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MODERN LIFE

Director: Raymond Depardon

Magnum photographer and filmmaker Raymond Depardon is renowned for his documentation of the French countryside. In MODERN LIFE he casts an affectionate and irreverent eye on a small community of farmers as they are confronted by the problems and challenges the contemporary world brings. Treated with equal suspicion, strangers and women are gradually accepted into the fabric of the farming life so as to sustain a way of life that celebrates the traditions and methods of old.

The Cevennes region in southern France is a region of hilly passes, lonely farms and lonelier farmers. There we are introduced to aged bachelor brothers Marcel and Raymond Privat, whose old-fashioned shepherding methods and primitive farming techniques lead them into contention with their younger nephew and his 'outsider' wife from Calais. Then there are dairy farmers Germaine and Marcel Challaye who struggle to maintain their diminishing flock with no help from their numerous children, and chain-smoking solitary farmer Paul Argaud, the very epitome of disillusion and governmental disinheritance. Finally the Jeanroy family offer a bleak picture of those that stay against the odds, with their son Daniel, who would much rather be doing anything else.

Through portraits of these unforgettable people, MODERN LIFE becomes a witness to farmers' lives, values, and stories: all that binds them to the land, and its legacy. Award

DVD (French with English Subtitles) / 2008 / 83 minutes

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FOOD BEWARE: THE FRENCH ORGANIC REVOLUTION

Director: Jean-Paul Jaud

For the first time ever, our children are growing up less healthy than their parents. As the rate of cancer and childhood obesity climbs ever upward each year, we must ask ourselves, why is this happening? What can we do to save our children's health - and our own?

Food Beware takes a look at a small village in the mountains of France, where - in opposition to powerful economic interests - the town's mayor has declared that the school lunchroom will serve mostly local food, grown by organic methods.

Featuring interviews with children, parents, teachers, health care workers, journalists, farmers, elected officials, scientists and researchers, we learn about challenges and rewards of their stand - the abuses of industry as well as the practical solutions at hand. What will it take to save our food supply? This moving testament to one community's answer is food for thought, and a case study of a growing revolution.

DVD (French, With English Subtitles) / 2007 / 112 minutes

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