FINAL RECIPE by Gina Kim
The Korean film FINAL RECIPE by Gina Kim will open the Culinary Cinema program of the 64th Berlinale, Berlin International Film Festival, which will be held from February 9 to 14, 2014. “We like it hot… but don’t let it burn” is the motto of the 2014 Culinary Cinema program. In FINAL RECIPE, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) plays the producer of an extremely glamorous cooking contest who becomes entangled in a family drama.
Franc Aleu’s documentary El Somni (THE DREAM)
Franc Aleu’s documentary El Somni (THE DREAM) is about the Roca brothers from Girona, a Catalonian town. Since 2013, their restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca, is number one on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. At an exclusive dinner with twelve top personalities from the fields of gastronomy, art and science, the brothers’ extraordinary dishes are put in an intercultural context through video projections and performances.
ZONE PRO SITE: THE MOVEABLE FEAST by Chen Yu-Hsun
With ZONE PRO SITE: THE MOVEABLE FEAST, Chen Yu-Hsun presents a zany, colourful comedy about traditional Taiwanese outdoor catering chefs.
Yuzo Asahara’s Bushi No Kondate (A TALE OF SAMURAI COOKING – A TRUE LOVE STORY)
Yuzo Asahara’s Bushi No Kondate (A TALE OF SAMURAI COOKING – A TRUE LOVE STORY) is a Japanese love story between a samurai chef, who prefers swords to kitchen knives, and his wife, who is a brilliant cook.
In NATURAL RESISTANCE, Jonathan Nossiter documents how Italian winemakers, who rely on local traditions, battle norms set by the EU and winegrowers’ associations. He connects scenes in vineyards with archive footage from the Cineteca Bologna, and so reveals the relationship between culture and agriculture.
Fisher Stevens’ and Robert Nixon’s film MISSION BLUE tells of the life of marine biologist and environmentalist Sylvia Earle and her “Hope Spots” project. Sanjay Rawal’s documentary FOOD CHAINS was co-produced by, among others, Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) and Eric Schlosser (Food, Inc.), and shows the current struggle of farmworkers against deplorable working conditions in Florida and California. THE FOOD GUIDE TO LOVE by Dominic Harari and Teresa de Pelegri describes the romantic relationship between an Irish omnivore and a Spanish vegetarian. In Le Semeur (THE SOWER), Julie Perron portrays a Canadian artist who unites cultivating and preserving rare seeds with inventive art performances. Diego Luna’s feature CESAR CHAVEZ (USA) provides the historical backdrop for FOOD CHAINS, showing how civil rights activist César Chávez successfully organized field workers to fight for their rights in 1960s California.
The 15th and final full-length film in the series is the Italian documentary I Cavaliere della Laguna (THE KNIGHTS OF THE LAGOON), by Walter Bencini, about a fishing cooperative on the coast of Tuscany.
The short films EL JUEGO EN LA MESA, 3 ACRES IN DETROIT and I MACCHERONI complete the program.
On February 14, during “Youth Food Cinema”, Jacques-Rémy Girerd and Benoït Chieux’s animated film Tante Hilda! (AUNT HILDA! – France / Luxembourg) will be presented. It examines the topic of genetically modified plants in a way that is comprehensible to children and inspires debate.