21-24 November 2013
Free
UK’s only urban food film festival returns for second year
The Liverpool-grown Food For Real Film Festival – the only festival of its kind in the UK – is to return for a second annual outing. Curated by socially-engaged, creative food enterprise Squash Nutrition, the festival seeks to explore the environmental, cultural and political impacts of the foods we grow, eat, waste and share in a fun and accessible way and this year has a particular focus on Food and Family.
For 4 delicious days, cinemas, eateries, gardens and even the city’s streets will play host to an interesting and eclectic programme of over 30 food-related films, documentaries, animations and shorts accompanied by a host of talks, hands-on activities and tastings for all the family.
THURSDAY 21 NOVEMBER
BERUITY BREAKFAST WORKSHOP
9.00 – 11.00 Bakchich, Bold St
Come and cook your own tasty breakfast on Bold Street at Liverpool’s home of Lebanese Street Food. Learn how to make sumac eggs, manakesh flat breads and the heavenly Bakchich signature drink of dates, avocado and almonds – Jus Royale.
Local to Global Food Shorts Part 1
10.00 – 12.00, John Archer Hall
Grab a bowl of tasty breakfast, pull up a chair and witness this collection of short films that explore local and global experiences of food production. These inspiring stories chart the deep connections families and communities have with farming the land, lake and sea.
The Man who stopped the Desert
Mark Dodd / UK/Burkina Faso / 2010 / Cert U / 64m
Meet Yacouba Sawadogo, the farmer passionate about the nurture of soil, who has stunned scientists and conservationists with his pioneering methods for reversing the process of desertification in Bukina Faso.
Local Food Roots
f3 and Sprout Films/UK/Cert U/ 30mins
A film about how an innovative local food movement has emerged and developed in the UK, from a handful of pioneering initiatives battling against the odds in the early 1990′s, to a diverse UK-wide movement feeding thousands of people every day.
The Last Fishermen
Jack Price, Greenpeace, Contented Productions/UK/Cert U /5.34m
European and domestic fishing laws favour large scale commercial industry, often with the highest environmental impact, while shutting out those who fish in the right way. This is the story of 8 fishermen who use sustainable methods, but whose future, and the future of our fish stocks, is under real threat.
Upendra and Worms
Jason Taylor / UK/India/ 2011 / Cert U / 2.10m
Worm culture; vermiculture is part of a system that has been used in sustainable, organic agriculture for thousands of years. The true value of worms, and their role in reconditioning degraded soil is finally being realised, with millions of farmers like Upendra in a small village in India beginning to re-introduce this method and enrich their soils.
THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN
DOCUMENTARY FILM
10.30, The Hub
Taggart Siegel / USA/ 2005 / Cert 12a / 82m
The epic tale of a maverick mid-western farmer – John Peterson, filmed between 1996 and 2004. John’s father died when he was a teenager and as the only boy in the family it was expected that he take up the reins and run the families 360 acre farm in Illinois. This incredibly moving biographical film tells the story of his struggle – an outcast from his community during a failing economy, amidst rumours and violence. We come to learn that the real dirt on Farmer John is mostly honest dirt – as we witness his attempts to do right by the farm and his family.
+ Market Town
Mary Field/UK/1942/ Cert U/10.28m
It’s market day in Newark, Nottinghamshire in 1942. This archive footage captures the town as it becomes a hub of activity and the centre of life and trade for the surrounding countryside.
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A RIVER CHANGES COURSE
DOCUMENTARY FILM
Kalyanee Mam/Cambodia/2013/Cert 15 /83 m
11am
Odeon
Intimate, moving and stunningly filmed, A River Changes Course vividly captures the profound interdependence between Cambodian river, forest and farm peoples and the foods they harvest. While moments of great beauty, grace and humour shine through, Mam witnesses the growing effects of debt, international land grabs and urbanisation on families means of survival and happiness. A powerful reflection on the frontline impacts of our global food system, this mesmerizing film deservingly walked away with the Grand Jury Prize for World Documentary at Sundance this year.
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GROWING CITIES UK PREMIER
DOCUMENTARY FILM
A LIVERPOOL FOOD ALLIANCE EVENT
Dan Susman/ USA / 2013 / Cert PG / 97m
14.00
FACT
Growing Cities examines the role of urban farming in America, asking viewers to re-imagine what’s possible in the city, showing how everyone can be a producer in a society driven by consumption. On this friendly and poignant road trip across the country we meet people growing food in backyards to make ends meet, composters who really love their soil and activists seeking a meaningful alternative to the industrial food system.
+ Local Food short films
POST-SCREENING DISCUSSION:
Join us to discuss the state and future of urban community food growing in our city.
Plus – taste locally made jams, chutney and honey – and bring your own to share!
L8 HONEY NIGHT
15.30 – 18.00
John Archer Hall
On this crisp autumn evening come down to food hub, John Archer Hall in Toxteth to savour local honey flavours, relish homemade preserves and delight in hot and spicy soups. Join us for music, lights, making an’ shaking plus a good dose of fun and laughter as we celebrate the changing of the seasons!
Come along – no ticket required.
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MORE THAN HONEY
DOCUMENTARY FILM
18.30, Odeon
Markus Imhoof / Switzerland, Germany, Austria / 2012 / Cert PG / 91m
A sensitive and beautifully shot story mapping the lives of honey bees. Imhoof travels to Austria, China, America and Germany to explore how colony collapse disorder has affected bee populations. A ‘must-see’ for bee-keepers, nature lovers and anyone passionate about the future of food.
+ HK Honey
Kiku Ohe / Hong Kong / 2001 / Cert U / 3.21m
A short but sweet journey into the lives of urban bees and their keepers in Hong Kong
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THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS (O slavnosti a hostech)
FEATURE FILM
19.30, Unit 51
Jan Němec / Czechoslovakia / 1966 / Cert U / 68m
Distinguished by being ‘banned forever’ in its native Czechoslovakia, and the most subversive film of the Czech New Wave, Němec’s film is a biting satire of governmental and institutional power. With visuals inspired by Goya, we encounter both a picnic and a birthday banquet set in a forest. We meet a leader, a dissident, a wedding party and a rabble of thugs, representing a decaying society. Fragmented, eccentric, rare.
+ Food (Jidlo)
Jan Švankmajer / Czechoslovakia / 1992 / Cert 15 / 17m
Technically and conceptually astonishing, the short film ‘Food’ is a journey of mind-boggling imagery and incredible ideas. Filmmaker-animator Jan Švankmajer takes us through Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with a big dollop of gastronomic surrealism.
Food
Choice Czech dishes available to purchase from 6.30pm at UNIT 51 cafe
FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER
OUTSIDER COOKING
WORKSHOP
10.00 – 12.00, The Grapes
Outside is the new inside and gardens are the new kitchens – you heard it here first! Join outside(r) cooking enthusiasts Tom and Jackie whose idea of cooking from scratch means just that – the session starts with building the fire….on which a delicious winter stew will be communally cooked.
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A PRIVATE FUNCTION
FEATURE FILM
Malcom Mowbrey/UK/1984/Cert 15 / 94m
10.00, Odeon
It’s 1947 in a small town in England. War has been won but meat is still rationed, and almost every family is feeling hard done by. To celebrate the marriage of Princess Elizabeth the great and the good are illegally raising a pig for an exclusive dinner. When status-hungry Joyce Chilvers (Maggie Smith) and husband Gilbert (Michael Palin) steal the animal, scenes of farce and chaos ensue.
This first feature scripted by Alan Bennett is rich in 1940’s ‘cuisine’, English eccentricity and beautifully observed class snobbery. British treasures Liz Smith, Pete Postlethwaite, Alison Steadman, Denholm Elliot and Richard Griffiths also star.
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SWEET ENOUGH
WORKSHOP
10.30 – 12.30, John Archer Hall
Free yourself from the white stuff and treat your taste-buds to a truly scrumptious sugar-less cooking workshop with Lisa and Kate.
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PLANT A POCKET ORCHARD
WORKSHOP
10.30 – 12.30, The Hub
Your opportunity this festival to take direct action, dig deep and get your hands dirty. Join permaculture expert Steve Jones from Sector 39 for a pocket orchard planting workshop.
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KITCHEN STORIES (Salmer fra kjøkkenet)
FEATURE FILM
12.30, Odeon
Bent Hamer / Norway / 2003 / Cert PG / 90m
In the early 1950’s a Swedish delegation, armed with clipboards, arrives in rural Norway to observe the domestic habits of single men. An unlikely and tender friendship blossoms between one of the Swedish ‘impartial observers’ and his grumpy Norwegian subject in this humorous study of male loneliness.
+ Semiotics of the Kitchen
Martha Rosler / USA / 1975 / Cert U / 6.21m
In alphabetical order, artist Martha Rosler ‘shows and tells’ the ingredients of the housewife’s day, giving a kitchen tour that names and mimics ordinary objects with movements that are more samurai than suburban.
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Local to Global Food Shorts Part 2
14.00 – 16.00, John Archer Hall
Grab a bowl of soup for this next instalment of inspiring short food films from across the world and around the corner.
The Floating Tomatoes
Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi / Myanmar (Burma) / 2010 / Cert. U / 29m
The Intha people travel across Lake Inle using a unique leg rowing technique, to tend their incredible floating tomato gardens.
La Via Campesina in Movement – Food Sovereignty!
La Via Campesina/ Worldwide / 2011/ Cert U / 21m
Many striking voices rise up across the world through international movement La Via Campesina (the Peasants Way). This allegiance of small scale farmers that formed in 1996, advocate family-farm based sustainable agriculture and was the group that first coined the term ‘food sovereignty’.
Plus 3 shorts celebrating food production and community growing in the North West:
Grassroots, Greenshoots – Toxteth
Making Local Food Work – Manchester
Village Farm Orchard – Stockbridge Village
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DOUBLE DUTCH
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
16.00, Unit 51
A fine pair of Dutch films curated by the Food Film Festival, Amsterdam. Members of the FFF team will be introducing their choices and discussing their inspiring annual festival.
http://www.foodfilmfestival.
FACING ANIMALS
Jan van IJken/ Netherlands / 2012 / 29 m
Filmed from the perspective of pigs, chickens, dogs and cows, Facing Animals asks the difficult question; why is it that we treat our pets better than some of our fellow humans, while constructing a system designed to produce as many pork chops as cheaply as possible?
DIVINE PIG
Hans Dortmans / Netherlands / 2010 / 66 m
The story of a village butcher who raises a pig he calls ‘Dorus’ who he intends to butcher himself. Local residents see the eccentric Gerard taking his future meat for a walk and are horrified at the idea of the lovable beast ending up as their dinner!
The documentary highlights how people would rather not know where there food comes from or face the reality that the meat on their plates was once alive!
Food
Delicious Dutch dishes available to purchase at UNIT 51 cafe
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SOUL FOOD JUNKIES
DOCUMENTARY FILM
19.00, Toxteth Library
Byron Hurt / USA / 2012 / Cert tbc / 64m
Director Byron Hurt sets out on a historical, culinary journey to learn more about soul food – a quintessential American cuisine – its relevance to black cultural identity and its effect on African American health, good and bad. Through candid interviews with soul food cooks, historians, and scholars, as well as with doctors, family members, and everyday people, the film puts this culinary tradition under the microscope to examine both its positive and negative consequences.
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ESTOMAGO: A GASTRONOMIC STORY (Estômago)
FEATURE FILM
21.00, The Brink
Marcos Jorge / Brazil/Italy / 2007 / Cert 18 / 113 m
A gentle but gritty tale of love, companionship and incredible food from Brazil. From the opening scene when unlikely food hero Raimundo describes a piece of Gorgonzola cheese in gastronomic detail to his prison cellmates, we know we’re in for a unique culinary adventure.
SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER
NATURE, NOW
CONVERSATION
10.00, FACT
This conversation will explore ways in which greater connection with nature at a neighbourhood level, through play, cooking, growing and foraging can bring the environment to life for everyone in Liverpool!
Hosted by environmentalist Gemma Jerome from social enterprise ‘At Home on the Earth’ accompanied by wild food and funghi expert Jesper Launder.
Plus short films:
+WALK ON THE TOXTETH WILD SIDE
Tim Brunsden/UK/Cert U/3m
+LEXICON OF SUSTAINABILITY; FORAGE
Douglas Gayeton / USA/Cert U/ 6.36
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NOW, FORAGER: A FILM ABOUT LOVE AND FUNGHI
FEATURE FILM
11.00, FACT
Jason Cortlund + Julia Halperin / USA / Cert 15 / 93m
Lucien and Regina are foragers – they gather wild mushrooms and sell them to New York restaurants. Their lifestyle is simple, their income unstable. As Regina seeks more security and Lucien wants to devote himself to full-time nomadic foraging, their individual desires put their marriage to the test. Beautifully shot, still and moving.
NOW FORAGE!
WORKSHOP
13.00 – 15.30
MEET OUTSIDE FACT
Join Jesper and Gemma + on an urban food adventure – a walk to explore what late autumn wild food we can uncover and savour. Bring sturdy shoes and a raincoat!
Open to all ages.
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JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH
FEATURE FILM
11.00, ODEON Liverpool One
Henry Selick / UK, USA / 1996 / Cert U / 89m
The first of this weekends Roald Dahl double bill – the tale of bereaved James Henry Trotter who escapes his unspeakably horrible Aunts Spiker and Sponge in a huge, magical peach! Celebrating friendship, teamwork and delicious peach flesh, this classic story is brought to life with a stellar cast and vibrant animation.
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SOULFOOD FAMILY COOKING
FAMILY WORKSHOP
11.00 – 13.00, John Archer Hall
Join Afro-Caribbean cook Grace Adegoke and learn the secrets to cooking up a delicious Dutch-pot full of goodness. Grace’s enthusiasm for food that warms the soul whilst being good for your heart, will help blow those November blues away!
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SEED ART
FAMILY WORKSHOP
14.00 – 16.00, John Archer Hall
Have a go at making your own seed pod shapes and make your own delicious food bombs with artist Tabitha Moses, this years Liverpool art prize winner.
+ short film
The Farmer, the Architect and the Scientist
Jason Taylor + The Sourced Project with the Gaia Foundation / UK / 2013 / Cert U / 6.53m
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SUPERMARKETS – A LOCAL INCONVENIENCE?
CONVERSATION
16.30, Toxteth Library
High streets no longer feature the happy family of shopkeepers – the butchers, bakers and greengrocers. In their place a sea of express, metro and local supermarket stores saturate the street corners of our cities and suburbs. Do these stores offer us a more convenient way to shop? Or do they provide less choice and a monoculture food market? What effect is this having on our shopping and cooking habits, our local neighbourhood economics and our health?
Join this timely and topical panel discussion where every opinion counts..!
Welcoming Joanna Blythman – the UK’s leading investigative food journalist whose books include What to Eat and Shopped; the Shocking Power of British Supermarkets and Kath Dalmeny – Policy Director of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.
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SOULFOOD
FEATURE FILM
George Tillman Jr / USA / 1997/cert 15 / 115m
19.00, John Archer Hall
Big Mama’s children and grandchildren meet at her table every Sunday. These gatherings are animated with the dramas of sibling rivalry and family strife but Mama’s constant love and soul food keeps the family strong. When she is hospitalised with diabetes, the family bond is in serious jeopardy … someone needs to step up to the table!
Soulfood features a great cast including Vanessa Williams and Irma P Hall.
SUNDAY 24 NOVEMBER
THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE LOAF!
WORKSHOP + COMMUNITY BREAKFAST
Homebaked
Homebaked is a community-owned and co-operatively run bakery at the heart of the Anfield/Breckfield area, just opposite Liverpool Football Club.
Life of a Loaf Workshop
7.00 – 10.00 (yes seriously!)
Join Homebaked’s home-grown baker Jessica Doyle for an early morning real-time baking experience. You will learn the basics about bread making and walk away with a loaf, some recipes and a state of the art kneading technique.
COMMUNITY BREAKFAST WITH SHORT FILMS
10.30 – 12.00
Come and join us for freshly baked bread straight from the oven, coffee, tea and time to watch films and chat. If you make your own jam or honey, bring some along for tasters! Open to all ages.
Short films include:
Brian makes an Apple Pie by Tim Brunsden
Bread by Chintan Gohil
Michael Pollans’ Food Rules by Marija Jacimovic
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FANTASTIC MR FOX
FEATURE FILM
11.00, ODEON
Wes Anderson / USA / 2009 / Cert. PG / 86m
Like all parents Mr and Mrs Fox just want to feed their young family. Each night Mr Fox steals chickens from three mean and wealthy farmers; Boggiss, Bunce and Bean. The farmers have had enough and try to destroy the family, but Fantastic Mr Fox outwits them at every turn. This clever and stylishly made stop-frame animation film based on Roald Dahl’s novel is a veritable feast for the eyes and features the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep.
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Premiere of L8 food animation short films!
+ Seed
and
+ How does your garden grow?
Over summer 2013, animation artist Alice Kuchemann worked with 2 groups of talented folks in Liverpool 8 and together they produced these 2 beautiful short animation films.
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BAWARCHI
FEATURE FILM
16.00, Mayur Restaurant
Hrishikesh Mukherjee /India/1972/Cert. U/ 130m (with interval)
Meet the Sharmas – a family in domestic chaos whose squabbling and fighting is well known in the neighbourhood. Life in the house is so awful that no-one can bear to work for them – without a cook or any help around the house, things are going from bad to worse.
Then Raghu turns up on the doorstep offering his services. The family quickly fall under the spell of the multi-talented chef who restores harmony in the house….but is Raghu too good to be true?
+ KERALAN COWBOY
Jason Taylor and the Source Project/2013/Cert U/5.53m
Food
Come and try a taste of Bollywood-on-the-Mersey as Mayur restaurant creates an authentic Indian cinema experience with special snacks and cinema treats on sale.
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THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN
DOCUMENTARY FILM
19.30, The Brink
Taggart Siegel/ USA/ 2005 / Cert 12a / 82m
The epic tale of a maverick mid-western farmer – John Peterson, filmed between 1996 and 2004. John’s father died when he was a teenager and as the only boy in the family it was expected that he take up the reins and run the families 360 acre farm in Illinois. This incredibly moving biographical film tells the story of his struggle – an outcast from his community during a failing economy, amidst rumours and violence. We come to learn that the real dirt on Farmer John is mostly honest dirt – as we witness his attempts to do right by the farm and his family.
+Adolfo the Farmer
Jason Taylor and Sourced TV/ UK / 2013 / Cert U / 4.06m
Food
Delicious seasonal dishes will be available to purchase from the Brink kitchen from 6.30pm
Seed Pod Cinema
Watch out for ‘Pod’ – our beloved electric milk-float that will be taking (slowly – 15mph!) to the streets as a mobile streetfood cinema. Keep an eye on twitter and facebook for screenings info as ‘Pod’ pops up in a street near you!
Popping Up:
Cinema Espresso:
Food for Real comes in all shapes and sizes; watch yourself a mini food film at Mello Mello with our super small projector. You’ll also be able to purchase delicious film-themed seasonal veggie dishes! Mello Mello, 40-42 Slater St, L1 4BX
Tasty Leftovers
Missed a Food for Real film you really wanted to see? Got a group who’d prefer a special showing? Then our film catch-up service at on Wednesday 27 17.00 – 20.00 or Friday 29 10.00 – 13.00 Thursday 28 16.00 – 19.00 might work for you. Call Clare on 0151 7077897 to arrange.
Popcornucopia
Watch out for tasty popcorn flavours popping up at Food for Real venues. Check out ‘Jamaican me love you’ jerk and ‘Sweet Cinema-pop’ cinnamon snack delights!
Look out for festival updates at:
www.facebook.com/
on twitter – @FoodforRealFest
