Post Script

A 'Fresh' spin on the food system

 

Last year, the food movie that grabbed all the headlines was Food, Inc., which really got people talking about the nation's food system. And that's a great thing. But there was another food-system documentary doing the rounds at the same time that seemed to get pushed out of the limelight a little, and that's a real shame, because it's worth seeing. And it features Milwaukee's own Will Allen of Growing Power, and we ought to support that, right?

Well, fear not ... "Fresh" is returning to Milwaukee screens this spring, airing at the Downer Theatre Monday April 19 and Tuesday April 20.

Want to snag some free tickets? You can get a voucher by attending Fresh-themed events in town just before the movie rolls in. On Tuesday, April 13, head to Meritage, the unbelievably-yummy Washington Heights restaurant, for the "Farm to Table" series. Enjoy a special three-course seasonal meal made of ingredients purchased fromBraise RSA - a source for locally grown food. Make your reservations by calling 414-479-0620.

Or go to La Merenda on Wednesday, April 14 for their three-course "Fresh" dinner. From antipasti tomeze, your palate will be transported around the globe on a journey of flavor. La Merenda is a casualtapas bar and restaurant in the historic Walker's Point district. Your $50 ticket includes a seat at the Downer screening of "Fresh." Make your reservations at 414-389-0125.

Once the movie has you enthused and ready to eat some local greens, pop over to Growing Power on the city's northwest side to see Will Allen's operation for yourself. The urban farm is hosting an Earth Day Open House on Thursday, April 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mingle, taste and tour ... but rsvp first.

 

UWM's French Film Fest features food flick

The alliteration in that title was unintentional, we promise.

The UWM French Film Fest begins today, and the calendar reveals a foodie film that seems hard to resist. Nos Enfants Nous Accuseront (Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution) will air at 7 p.m., Wednesday Feb. 10th and Saturday Feb. 13th, at the UWM Union Theatre, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.

From the UWM web site, a synopsis: Food Beware begins with a visit to a small village in France, where the town's mayor has decided to make the school lunch menu organic and locally grown. It then talks to a wide variety of people with differing perspectives to find common ground - children, parents, teachers, health care workers, farmers, elected officials, scientists, researchers and the victims of illnesses. Revealed in these moving and often surprising conversations are the abuses of the food industry, the competing interests of agribusiness and public health, the challenges and rewards of safe food production, and the practical solutions that we can all take part in. Food Beware is food for thought - and a blueprint for a growing revolution.

For the film festival calendar, click here.

Don't worry, Avatar will save us

"... Going green is just another luxury that we have learnt to do without in the recession. Yet the planet may be saved — not by human beings but by 10ft Picassoesque aliens in turquoise Speedo bodysuits with tails."

The movie has topped $1 billion in record time, and The Times thinks it may also save the world. The full editorial here.

The Botany of Desire ... on TV

The apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato. Four plants compose the starring lineup of the film adapation of Michael Pollan's book, The Botany of Desire. and they represent sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control, respectively. Who knew?

An exploration of plants and our relationship with them, the film (like the book before it) takes us from Pollan's backyard to the apple orchards of Kazakhstan, the tulip markets of Amsterdam, a medicinal marijuana hothouse and the potato fields of South America. 

A reviewer on Newsday.com had this to say: "Shot in beautiful high-definition videography. 'The Botany of Desire' is a perfect story for television,' says producer and director Michael Schwartz. 'It takes a world we thought we knew and allows us to see it in an entirely new way.' The special is two hours of pure joy that contains all the requisites of must-see TV - it's intriguing and fascinating, engaging, entertaining and educational. It's brilliant. I just wish I'd thought of it first."

The film was broken up into segments are aired in Madison's Central Library over the past four weeks, but the entire thing (joy!) will be aired at 7 p.m. tomorrow night (Wednesday Oct 28) on Wisconsin Public Television.

For a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, along with local listings, lesson plans and bonus features, go to pbs.org/thebotanyofdesire.

Madison to host environmental film fest

An environmental studies institute at UW-Madison is putting on a free environmental film festival.

Starting Nov. 6, nearly 50 films will be shown during the three-day festival, called "Tales from Planet Earth." 

Festival director Gregg Mitman says he hopes to make it a national model, using film to inspire community action on issues like food, health, energy, climate and biodiversity.

Mitman is also interim director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison.

Nelson Institute's Center for Culture, History and Environment is hosting the festival along with Working Films. That's a national nonprofit organization that links storytelling through film to activism.

- Wisconsin State Journal

Live from New York... The Age of Stupid premiers tonight

The Age of Stupid is opening around the U.S. tonight. We've already blogged about the part-fiction, part-documentary commentary on global warming and what we are not doing to stop it or slow it down.

The premier is being held in New York City tonight, with a live feed to movie theaters around the country. In Milwaukee, Marcus North Shore Cinema is taking place, as well as Marcus Majestic in Brookfield (both at 6:30 p.m.) Details of the one-night movie event and a trailer here.

The Age of Stupid

From across the pond comes a hybrid (no pun intended) climate change film that blends fact with fiction, documentary with movie-making. British actor Pete Postelthwaite stars in The Age of Stupid; a film that takes us to the year 2055, when Earth has been decimated by global warming. We watch our protagonist despair over 50-year-old television news footage, and scratch his head in wonderment at the stupidity of the human race. This construction is interwoven with real documentary footage of people in 2008, from various walks of life and points on the earth.

The critics don't all agree, either with the facts presented or the construct of the movie. But the producers are trying to get this film into every multiplex they can.

Learn more here.

Michael Pollan waxes lyrical on Julia Childs, a new movie and the love of food

If you have a few moments to spare, if you love food, cooking or movies, this is a nice read from Michael Pollan in the New York Times magazine.

It explains a lot about Mr Pollan (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma) that his childhood home life revolved around good food. It says a lot about us as a society that "Julie & Julia," a Nora Ephron movie based on the lives of two chefs, is proving popular with audiences. Dare we say it's the beginning of the end of the fast food era, and slow food is making a comeback? Like Pollan, we certainly hope so.

FRESH, with a local twist, coming to a screen near you

While we're not about to change the name of our blog to The Will Allen Fan Club, we're happy to report yet another piece of news about the man behind Growing Power.

Allen is featured in an upcoming documentary, FRESH, which highlights the dire consequences of industrial farming and then profiles the sustainable farming revolution taking place across the country, lead by people like Allen, supermarket owner David Ball, and Joel Salatin, the farmer and entrepreneur profiled in Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Moving Pictures Magazine reviewed the film, admitting that it is unpleasant to watch, briefly and in parts, but noting that it is a swiftly-edited film with a beautiful score and an important message. Says the reviewer:

"What the doc does best is demonstrate, in nutritional facts and figures as well as in commercial numbers that make dollars and sense, that nature’s own ways of doing things - nature’s food chain, nature’s circle of life - is, ultimately, the best treatment of land and livestock, which then provide the most nutritious and delicious treats for us consumers."

Judging only from the trailer, this appears to be a documentary that sends the message home loud and clear... this is important. But there remains a sense of optimism. As Allen says in the movie, "Food is a foundation, but it's about life."

The movie will be screened in Milwaukee on June 4th at 6 p.m. at Discovery World. For tickets, a trailer, and more information, go to www.FRESHthemovie.com

Looks like the mad chickens are drawing a crowd

Ever thought about keeping chickens in your urban backyard? Well, plenty of people have. Really. There's a documentary to prove it. A 'sometimes wacky, sometimes serious' documentary that goes by the name Mad City Chickens.

As part of Outpost's Spring Film Festival, Chickens is making its Milwaukee premiere tonight, 7:30 p.m. at Lakefront Brewery Palm Garden on Commerce Street. The Journal Sentinel peeked into the henhouse, and we heard mention of carpools, so it looks like it's going to be a popular (and free) show.

Outpost peeps will be there. 

Did we mention it's free?