The 2015 San Sebastian Festival announced the 17 films selected to screen in the program of the “Culinary Zinema” section. The five years of collaboration between the San Sebastian Festival, the Berlin Festival and the Basque Culinary Center have given rise to what the festival describes as one of the most highly appreciated sections by Festival spectators and to a must-attend rendezvous for local gastronomy lovers in an event that combines an internationally prestigious film festival with the culinary wealth of one of the regions with the highest concentration of Michelin stars in the world.
This fifth edition increases the selection of titles to 17, consisting of 4 short films and 13 feature films, including 9 in competition and 4 not in competition. The screening of seven of the films will be accompanied by themed dinners by chefs of international prestige.
The section opens with the documentary CAMPO A TRAVÉS. MUGARITZ, INTUYENDO UN CAMINO (OFF-ROAD. MUGARITZ, FEELING A WAY) directed by Pep Gatell and closes with COOKING UP A TRIBUTE directed by Luis Gonzalez.
FILMS IN COMPETITION
Opening Night Film
CAMPO A TRAVÉS. MUGARITZ, INTUYENDO UN CAMINO (OFF-ROAD. MUGARITZ, FEELING A WAY) (pictured above)
A philosophical and ethological documentary. La Fura dels Baus reveals the motors that drive Mugaritz, the ideas behind its dishes, what it means for the team to achieve excellence and success, the suffering and the enjoyment… at the end of the day, how Mugaritz constantly creates and destroys. It highlights the constant risk, hence its title, but also the knowhow drawn from the effort and work of the many people past, present and future at Mugaritz; a place where culinary purpose has been surpassed by the creative process and its potential variables.
Closing Night Film
COOKING UP A TRIBUTE
LUIS GONZÁLEZ, ANDREA GÓMEZ (SPAIN)
The tale of an unprecedented voyage when one of the best restaurants in the world closes its doors for five weeks to set out and travel. Making its way through four American countries, the team from El Celler de Can Roca pays homage to the cuisines of Mexico, Peru and Colombia, personally reinterpreting their ingredients and traditions.
A gastronomic voyage revealing the cultural and historical wealth of Peru guided by one of its favourite dishes: ceviche!
A beautiful and immersive portrait of life at the 144-year old Yoshida Brewery, a producer of world class sake. With changing times ahead and new regime led by the 6th generation heir, this is a rarified look at the personal and professional intensity needed to create a revered product and the artisans behind it.
In this fascinating look at the universe of sake, three outsiders; a British sake brewer with 25 years experience in Japan, an American journalist who has published multiple guidebooks on sake, and the young president of a centuries -old Japanese sake brewery who wants to make changes to his family legacy, join together to explore the mysterious world of sake illustrating how these unique individuals each have a role to play in the rich, complex, and spectacular world of sake.
Ichiko lives in Komori, a tiny village in northeastern Japan. She moved out to the city once, but felt lost there and returned. With no supermarkets or convenience stores nearby, living in Komori is like living off the land. She grows her own rice, works the farm, and makes meals out of seasonal foods gathered from the neighboring mountains and fields…
How did Redzepi manage to revolutionize the entire world of gastronomy, inventing the alphabet and vocabulary that would infuse newfound pedigree to Nordic cuisine and establish a new edible world while radically changing the image of the modern chef? His story has the feel of a classic fairy tale: the ugly duckling transformed into a majestic swan, who now reigns over the realm of modern gourmet cuisine. But beneath the polished surface, cracks appear in the form of old wounds.
At the height of his culinary career, Master chef Sergio Herman feels he needs to let go of his 3-star restaurant Oud Sluis in order to fulfill his dreams. A revealing documentary about perfection, ambition and sacrifice.
After finding out that his home is slated to be demolished, Koh Chun Feng, a middle-aged food critic whose career is starting to wear away at him decides to explore his life and the progress of Singapore through local food.
NOT IN COMPETITION
Galician nouvelle cuisine has the peculiar trait of a love for exploring the past, for recovering the flavours left behind by the modern world, for lending dignity to products considered inferior. The Nove Group is an association of chefs who reach beyond the clichés to promote this cuisine of the future. A realistic portrayal of Galicia taking gastronomy as its vehicle in the endeavour to unravel the delicate balance between tradition and modernity in a land of contrasts.
A documentary which features six of the world’s most renowned international chefs, and offers viewers the opportunity to go inside the lives and kitchens of these culinary talents. The chefs featured include Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy), Dan Barber (Blue Hill Restaurant at Stone Barns and in New York City, USA), Francis Mallmann (El Restaurante Patagonia Sur in Buenos Aires, Argentina), Niki Nakayama (N/Naka Restaurant in Los Angeles, CA, USA), Ben Shewry (Attica Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia) and Magnus Nilsson (Fäviken in Järpen Sweden).
The Basques have been drinking cider for centuries, but in the Basque Country cider is more than just fermented apple juice. The documentary takes us on a journey, a cultural, gastronomic, scientific and historical adventure. It’s leading character: cider.
A documentary portraying the origin, evolution, current status and future of Spanish gastronomy, conceived as a movement that established creative and conceptual freedom as the ground rule of the game all over the globe.
Short films
Four artists from different disciplines: chef Xabier Gutiérrez, painter Juan Vich, musician Ander Fernández and producer Pello Gutiérrez. Each lends a new slant to a concept based on a single premise: charcoal embers. All four set about exposing their individual takes on the materials, colours, sound, sensations.
Ferran Adrià dons his chef’s jacket once again, to take up a new challenge: cooking without cooking and reformulating the conference format, turning it into content to explain the creative process that led him to make his restaurant one of the great temples of 20th creativity, a feat that would forever change the history of gastronomy.
While the sea is being ransacked as never before, more than 90% of the fish captured is controlled by only 30 countries. The NGO Oceana and the globe’s top chefs suggest ways to curb overfishing that would provide food for much of the world.
Sonia Mamani lives in Capachica, a peninsula of Lake Titicaca (Puno, Peru). She learned to cook at the age of fifteen and has been travelling ever since, teaching women not only how to prepare traditional dishes but also to appreciate their customs and identity.