A Taste Of Slow Films
A food film festival in two courses. Indulge your palate and feed your mind with this irresistible combination of food and film. First is Slow Shorts, a search for the best short films that savour the Slow philosophy and offer a unique take on gastronomic pleasures or food. Prizes will be awarded to finalists in two categories: best overall film and Soft Boiled Egg, a three-minute film category. Finalists screened at BMW Edge throughout the weekend. Second is Feast on Film, five days of feature films from around the world, some never before screened in Australia. Hard-hitting and heart-warming documentaries tell stories of tragedy and triumph, politics and corruption and the lives of the farmers, producers and consumers.
Feast On Film
When: 25 February - 5 March
Where: Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne
How Much: $12.00/$10.00, per session (Slow Food members and concession)
Tickets: ACMI Cinema box office, phone 03 8663 2583
For unclassified films, persons under the age of 15 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Monday 25 February
6.30PM: The Future Of Food
With special introduction by Percy Schmeiser
A disturbing investigation into the genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled our supermarket shelves
and the complex web of forces that are changing what we eat (USA 2004).
9.00PM: One Man, One Cow, One Planet
Introduced by film-makers Tom and Barbara Burstyn
A blueprint for a post-industrial future that exposes globalisation's mantra of infinite growth as an environmental and human disaster, this film shows that across India marginal farmers are fighting back (NZ 2006).
Tuesday 26 February
6.30PM: Slow Food Revolution
Introduced by Daniela Mollica, Slow Food Melbourne
A global documentation of the eco-gastronomic movement that champions the protection of food diversity by encouraging regional production, taste education and pleasure. A seriously sensual journey from earth to table (Aust 2003).
8.30PM: Refugee: a Recipe + Strawberry Fields
Refugee: a Recipe
Special introduction by filmmaker Liam Ward
Part animation, part cooking show, this documentary explores the impact of mandatory detention and temporary visas on the life of one Afghani refugee (Aust 2005).
Strawberry Fields
Strawberry Fields tells of the daily struggles of strawberry farmers in the north of the Gaza Strip whose crop has to be exported to the rest of the world via military-controlled checkpoints (Israel 2006).
Monday 3 March
6.30PM: The Enormous Nuclear Potato + The Real Dirt on Farmer John (PG)
The Enormous Nuclear Potato
A quirky story about a small town farming couple who find fame when they discover the world's largest potato (USA 2008).
The Real Dirt on Farmer John (PG)
Award winning documentation of the dramatic failure of a conventional farming operation and its resurrection into a thriving organic farm. By melding family traditions with art and free expression, this quintessentially American story heralds a resurrection of farming in America (USA 2006).
9.00PM: King Corn
A feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn and the subsidised crop driving a fast-food nation. Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis grow a bumper crop of America's most-productive grain but when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, troubling questions are raised (USA 2007).
Tuesday 4 March
6.30PM: The Legend of the Holy Fisherman + The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
The Legend of the Holy Fisherman
On San Pietro Island tuna fishing has been practiced for hundreds of years according to an ancient ritual (Italy 2005).
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
This inspiring film tells the fascinating story of how Cuba turned to organic farming and urban agriculture after a collapse in its supply of cheap oil from the Soviet Union (USA 2006).
8.30PM: Darwin's Nightmare (M)
During the 1960s in the heart of Africa, the Nile Perch was introduced into Lake Victoria, extinguishing native fish species and multiplying so fast that today it is exported all around the world (France/Austria/Belgium 2004).
Wednesday 5 March
6.30PM: Squeezed: The Cost of Free Trade in the Asia-Pacific + Black Gold
Squeezed: The Cost of Free Trade in the Asia-Pacific
Travelling from the lush rice paddies of Thailand to squatter settlements in a Manila rubbish dump, this film creates an emotional picture of how globalisation affects farmers in the Asia-Pacific (Aust 2007).
Black Gold
As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. This eye-opening exposé of the multi-billion dollar coffee industry traces one man's fight for a fair price (UK 2006).
9.30PM: We Feed the World
A film about scarcity amidst plenty, an insight into the production of our food and an answer to the question of what world hunger has to do with us (Austria 2005).
Slow Shorts Onscreen
Slow Shorts Film Festival Trailer (QuickTime 04.22 secs)
Pop your shorts on and kick off the Slow weekend with a party at BMW Edge. Check out the screening of the finalists from the Slow Shorts film comp, salute the winners and enjoy the sounds of Melbourne trip hop masters Miso as well as DJs Wasabi and Duck Roast.
When: 22 February, 9.30pm
Where: BMW Edge at Federation Square
How Much: Free entry
