BLOCK W: Open to World-wide Audience: Soggy Flakes, Serious Lees, Ulwandle Ushile / Meeting The Tides, Have You Eaten?, The Great List of Everything: The French Fries, COVID 19: The Future of Food, The Art of Eating, au chic resto pop

Ulwandle Ushile / Meeting The Tides

NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE

Tembisa Jordaan  South Africa  2020  9:53  

This story is about the unheard voices of traditional marine fishers. On the doorstep of UNESCO-listed iSimangaliso Wetland Park – a nature lover's wonderland that attracts tourists from all over the world - are the homes of the poorest and most marginalized coastal communities who have a high dependency on natural resources for survival. In the heart of the most tranquil beaches, we follow brave village women as they conquer the harshness of the waves just to provide for their families. We take a walk in their shoes as they share in on their past and present experiences of the ocean, the generational access to marine living resources, their indigenous knowledge on the practice of mussel harvesting and what they hope for in future, especially since they were once criminalized during apartheid times for wanting to provide food for their families.

Director Biography

Tembisa Jordaan is an avid cook, music lover, Marine scientist and the Biodiversity Stewardship and Biodiversity Economy acting manager, at Ezemvelo KZN wildlife. She is passionate about sectoral transformation in the biodiversity space, and the improvement of conservation models to be more people oriented and improve lives. She recently starred in a 3-part marine conservation documentary commissioned by Off the Fence, called “Our Oceans” and won the N.E.W Film pitch competition at the Nature, Environment and Wildlife Film congress, to create a short documentary about the lives of marine Traditional Fishers in KZN. Her short film, "Ulwandle lushile", is a result of the work she did for many years in marine resource management with KZN coastal communities.

Director Statement

I honestly can't take credit for the amazing work. I had the best crew and amazing characters. The concept is something that has always bothered me about environmental or natural science films or doccies. African stories are rarely ever told by Africans, especially in this genre, and there is a dire need for that to change. I simply created a platform for 3 amazing Women to share their lived experiences of the ocean and how they have relied on marine resources for generations. I think this is one way that we can preserve and document the remnants of our indigenous knowledge systems, as Black people.

Specifications

• Project Type: Documentary, Short

• Genres: Environmental, natural sciences, conservation

• Runtime: 9 minutes 53 seconds

• Completion Date: September 3, 2020

• Production Budget: 3,321 USD

• Country of Origin: South Africa

• Country of Filming: South Africa

• Language: Zulu

• Shooting Format: HD

• Film Color: Color

• First-time Filmmaker: Yes

The Art of Eating

Douglas Jackson  Canada  1976  10:00 

This short documentary highlights one of the biannual dinners at Club Prosper Montagné, a leading international gastronomic society. While elaborate dishes are served with great pomp, we meet Québec’s Chef of the year Marcel Kretz, who is coordinating the feast from the kitchen of Hotel La Sapinière, in the Laurentians.

Have You Eaten?

Lina Li  Canada  2020  5:00 

Living in downtown Toronto to attend school, Lina Li returns to the comfort of home in Thornhill and her mother's cooking. In this candid short, filmmaker Lina Li and her mother engage in an intimate conversation about immigration to Canada, misunderstandings, barriers to communicating, love and the taste of home. 

Part of THE CURVE, a collection of social distancing stories that bring us together. Enjoy more works from this series here .

COVID 19: The Future of Food

Jérémie Battaglia  Canada  2020  12:00 

How are you adapting to the pandemic? That’s the question Jérémie Battaglia and Vali Fugulin asked Canadian small and medium-sized business owners in April 2020 as part of the Pivot project led in partnership with the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative. Out of these discussions, one major theme emerged — how COVID-19 has affected the eating habits of Canadians. Interest in local products and cooking exploded during the lockdown, but was it just a fad? Six months later, as the second wave was sweeping over the country, Jérémie wanted to continue the conversation with two of the business owners he met, restaurant owner Lil MacPherson and farmer Dave Kranenburg. Both have long advocated for the importance of making the agri-food industry more responsive and local. On a video-conference call, they reflect on the changes in behaviour we’re seeing and wonder if we might be witnessing a long-term paradigm shift in our relationship with food.

au chic resto pop

Tahani Rached  1991 Canada 1:24:00

This feature-length film about poverty in Montreal is set against a soundtrack that includes rap, blues, rock, and country and western music. The film deals with the universal themes of hunger, hope and love and is named after an actual Montreal restaurant that's been serving those in need for over 25 years. In French with English subtitles.

The Great List of Everything: The French Fries

Canada  2019  2:00 

Iris is about to greedily devour her lunch—a mountain of fries—and her friend gives her a lecture. In Cathon’s opinion, fries are not a balanced meal. And yet they’re in Canada’s Food Guide. Or are they? Maybe not.

Voiced by Angela Galuppo and Cat Lemieux, The Great List of Everything was produced by La Pastèque and the National Film Board of Canada in collaboration with Télé-Québec. Produced with the financial participation of the Shaw Rocket Fund.

Serious Lees

Krista Jang  Canada  2019  8:24 

Nothing puts your identity, self-worth and family to the test like going to the Chinese supermarket, but it's a journey one father and daughter are determined to take.

Director Biography

Krista Jang is an actor/filmmaker originally from Vancouver, and an alumna of Capilano University's Film/TV Acting, Cinematography and Motion Picture Production programs. Her first short film, "Project: Icing", was highlighted as one of NSI Online Short Film Festival's 'comedy gems' of the year, while her second, "Misplaced", was a MAMM Award Winner. Krista has appeared in numerous commercials and Film/TV shows including "Star Trek: Short Treks" and "Mary Kills People". She is currently based in Toronto.

Director Statement

"Serious Lees" was conceived after a conversation with a fellow Asian actor; we both noticed that although more Asian family-centric stories are being told, the majority are from the immigrant's point of view. Coming from an ethnic background full of rich culture and strong traditions, there is an assumption that later generations are either fully immersed or have completely lost touch with their roots. Traditional practices are not upheld, language is lost, and culture is rejected. In my personal experience as a 2nd-Generation Chinese-Canadian, I am a representative of a cultured, yet non-traditional generation.

Specifications

• Project Type: Short
• Runtime: 8 minutes 24 seconds
• Completion Date: August 15, 2019
• Production Budget: 1,500 USD
• Country of Origin: Canada
• Country of Filming: Canada
• Language: English
• Shooting Format: Digital
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Film Color: Color
• First-time Filmmaker: No
• Student Project: No

Soggy Flakes

Heath Affloter, Jon Affloter, Nathan Affloter, Thomas Affloter  Canada  2017  5:29

In a world fed-up with sugar, carbs, and gluten, out-of-work breakfast cereal mascots face the bitter taste of reality.

Synopsis

In a low-carb, sugar-free, gluten-intolerant world, a group of washed-up, out-of-work breakfast cereal mascots form a weekly support group. Together they lament the golden ages of yesteryear and attempt to figure out how to swallow the bitter taste of today’s reality. But when Captain Kale, an ex-colleague turned sell-out, shows up to the diner where they host their meetings, they’re forced to re-examine their definition of what it means to be a success.