Filmmaker Byron Hurt looks at the past and future of soul food, covering its roots in Western Africa, its incarnation in the American South, and the role it plays in the health crisis in the African American community. Examines the socioeconomic of the modern American diet, and how the food industry profits from producing cheap calories while healthy options remain expensive and hard to find.
We recently added “The gleaners and I” to the DBRL collection. The film by director Agnes Varda was an award winner from 2000 and currently has a rating of 92% from critics at Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a synopsis from our catalog:
Varda’s most recent effort– the first filmed with a digital video camera– focuses on gleaners, those who gather the spoils left after a harvest, as well as those who mine the trash. Some completely exist on the leavings; others turn them into art, exercise their ethics, or simply have fun. The director likens gleaning to her own profession-that of collecting images, stories, fragments of sound, light, and color.
We recently added the 3 DVD set of The Weight of the Nation to the DBRL collection. The films were broadcast on HBO in May and currently have a rating of 100% from audiences at Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a synopsis from the official website:
Three years in the making, The Weight of the Nation brings together the country’s leading research institutions in a national initiative to help shed light on solutions to restore our individual and collective health. The centerpiece of The Weight of the Nation is the 4-part documentary series that features case studies and interviews with experts as well as individuals and families struggling with obesity. Each part focuses on a particular issue: “Consequences,” examines the scope of the obesity epidemic and the serious health consequences of being overweight or obese; “Choices,” reveals the science behind obesity and weight loss; “Children in Crisis,” documents the impact the epidemic is having on the nation’s children; and “Challenges,” examines the major forces behind the obesity epidemic.
We recently added Colony to the DBRL collection. The film played at the True False Film Fest in 2010, and currently has a rating of 81% from audiences at Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a synopsis from our catalog:
Few people realize that honey bees pollinate one-third of our fruits and vegetables. In fact, these incredible insects play a vital role in producing our food and ensuring our survival. Investigated are the circumstances and the impacts of ‘colony collapse disorder’ with focus on beekeepers dealing with the crisis. As these families and individuals struggle to understand this lethal problem, they illuminate the devastating effects of bee extinction not just on bees, but on people.
We recently added Bananas! to the DBRL collection. Similar in theme to Joe Berlinger’s Crude, the film has gained notoriety in the documentary community due to the legal issues surrounding the release of the film. It also currently has a rating of 83% from critics at Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a synopsis from our catalog:
A suspenseful courtroom drama that focuses on the intricacies of the global politics of food by examining the actual case of Nicaraguan banana plantation workers and their suit against Dole Food Corporation. Their corporation was suspected of using banned pesticides, which were linked to generations of sterilized workers.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 › 7-8:45 p.m.
Columbia Public Library, Friends Room
In the Academy Award-nominated documentary Food, Inc. (94 min.) director Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, arguing that our food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. This movie was shown at the True/False Film Fest in 2009. Local radio station KBIA has an archived interview with the director from when he was in town. The film also has a companion book available at the library.
This film is part of the University of Missouri’s Food and Society Series. The film and lecture series is part of the Mizzou Advantage strategic initiative and focuses on discussing and creating awareness about food—what we eat, how we eat it, how our food is procured, and the future of our food.
We will have time for discussion after the film. Check out the film trailer below:
