Food-related film at the Shadow Festival
November 17, 2006
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Film still from Allan Sekula’s The Lottery of the Sea (2006) for once image used entirely with permission
A quick scan of the seventh edition of Amsterdam’s Shadow Film Festival, (November 21-29) and I see the programme is larded with food-related films. Thank gawd for programmers doing this without even noticing, because when they do notice, they tend to programme vile romcoms, the scourge of the genre. But the Shadow Festival, known in my possee as the Thinkin’ Gal’s Documentary Fest is always above all that and this year they’re showing work by one of my favourite artist/filmmakers.
 used entirely without permission'))
Film still from Allan Sekula’s Tsukiji (2001) showing tuna being moved around like bars of gold, used entirely without permission
I’m a big fat fan of Allan Sekula and pretty much anything that he produces about the seas. I remember his 2002 photo installation at the Documenta XI about people working in the fishing industry. There was one particular photograph amongst the hundreds of the ship formerly known as the Exxon Valdez, at the very moment that its name was being overpainted. That ship, that moved around all that oil, that in turn moved around all that food we eat and all that stuff we buy, bleeding out over the ocean’s surface, lifeblood upon lifeblood. The photograph was just a portrait of the man whose job it was to paint over ‘that name’, but it was chilling, gives me gooseflesh everytime I think about it.
In 2001, the Shadow Festival featured an afternoon with Sekula and a screening of his yet to be finished Fish Story, later to be titled, Tsukiji. Now I’m counting the days until I can view a screening of the Lottery of the Sea. For nerds there will even be a special lecture by Sekula the very next day (Monday, November 27) which I unfortunately will not be able to attend because although on sabbatical, I have agreed to teach some youngsters a thing or two. If you’re in town and you haven’t heard Sekula speak, you will definitely want to do so – he is warm and engaging and he interacts for realisies with his audience.
There are all manner of interesting documentaries being screened at the festival, but here’s the culiblog super shortlist of food-related film at the Seventh Edition of the Shadow Festival in Amsterdam:
Easy Riders
Ane Ose (Norway) / 15 min
Melkweg – Thursday, November 23rd at 16:00h
The Lottery of the Sea
Allan Sekula (US) / 179 min
Melkweg – Sunday, November 26th at 19:30h
Lecture by Allan Sekula
“Eleven Premises on Documentary and a Questionâ€
Allan Sekula (USA)
Melkweg – Monday, November 27th at 14:00h
Oliva Oliva
Peter Hoffmann (Germany) / 68 min
Melkweg – Monday, November 27th at 19:30h
 used entirely without permission'))
Film still from Allan Sekula’s Tsukiji (2001) showing the beheading of eels and the twitching man who does ‘all that work’, used entirely without permission
- Shadow Festival Documentary Festival
Amsterdam November 21-29, 2006 - Review of the world premiere of the Lottery of the Sea
- You’ll want Sekula’s book Performance under working conditions
- Message in a Bottle, about the photography of Allan Sekula
All about the film Tsukiji, exclusively for those familiar with the Dutch language… pity.- For Allan Sekula nerds, a review of a prescreening of the Lottery of the Sea at ESL (Esthetics as a Second Language)
- More Fish Stories on Culiblog
- Another sort of fish story, but even Björk links to this florid and wordy culiblog film review of Matthew Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9.
- Books by Allan Sekula
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Micro-green restaurant officially open
November 4, 2006
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Jeanette likes sprouts because they’re seed-related
Roqn-ass opening btw. Merveilleuse! The dear friends showed up, the food was devoured, folks asked for seconds (and got them without a wince) we danced our tocheses off until 4ish and the whole thing ended sloppily with bottles of bubbles (cava goes w/sprouts) being redistributed into all manner of recycled containers. Waste not, want not, love that.
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And as for the youth of today (who were all diamonds and came exquisitely dressed) I spent at least 3 minutes dancing with a hand in the air, trying to share a joint, and none of those shiny happy kids even wanted it. Hell yeah, it’s HOMEGROWN! What evs.
Must be the New Austerity.
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Grow yer own dang food Chef Tallele and Debra, a blur of her former self. Photo Aya van Caspel
To all of our great surprise, the opening event went swimmingly, and if we still like playing with this toy after 2 months time, we may get the urge to share the love. At least that was the sentiment at the end of the evening. Bodes well.
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The Smug One, Arne & Jelena. Photo Aya van Caspel
Tonight is Amsterdam’s Museum N8 (8 = acht, nacht = night) and amidst a whole open town of art and design venues, Grow Yer Own Dang Food micro-green cuisine is the only expression of contemporary culture and superior low carbon footprint values in the form of a restaurant. Does it get any cooler than that? Maybe if we made some money?
Speaking of totally sexy family values, I’ve decided that next week Grow Yer Own Dang Food is doin’ Shabbat on Friday, get more of the Mishpoch to come. Avec leurs parents!
More pictures, if you please read more… (Please read more… )
debra at 18:56 | Comments (2) | post to del.icio.us
Grow yer own dang food
October 29, 2006
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Radish and leek sprouts in the low-angled polar sun
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 3, Restaurant prototype to open
Grow Yer Own Dang Food, micro-green cuisine
A restaurant devoted to sprouted seeds and micro-greens could only be called a Sproutstaurant. And at a Sproutstaurant one eats, micro-green cuisine!
For 2 months in Amsterdam beginning Friday, November 3rd you can enjoy no less than 31 sorts of sprouted vegetable accompanied by that most quintessential of Dutch foods, potato mash (stamppot). In an exuberant expression of Grow Yer Own Dang Food, culiblog’s Debra Solomon will be presenting a menu that we all could easily have grown ourselves.
Grow yer own dang food! Right here in our urban caves, right here in the Polar Circle. Here, in the dead and dark of winter, you can grow yer own dang food.
We all know by now that transporting food by lorry and airplane uses loads of petrol and causes suffering in rural communities far away but also back in the Heimatt. A significant portion of inter-urban transportation is devoted to the acquisition and transportation of food into our homes. Eating home grown food offers a sustainable solution to securing an ethically produced food supply.
Recognising that the urban interior is no place for permaculture activism, the Grow Yer Own Dang Food sprout restaurant offers an elegant solution to self-sufficient-ish organic food production at minimal cost and with maximal style.
Solomon assures us, ‘Sprouting, it’s not just for hippies anymore.’
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Sprouting pumpkin seeds
- Grow Yer Own Dang Food Sproutstaurant is situated amidst the Mediamatic Night Garden, an exhibition linking next nature, new technology and contemporary art.
Participating artists: Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, Felix Hess, Mateuz Herczka, Ralf Schreiber & Christian Faubel, Debra Solomon (culiblog.org), Michael Samyn & Auriea Harvey and Petra Blaisse.Night Garden opens Friday November 3rd at 20:00h.
Grow Yer Own Dang Food Sproutstaurant / Micro-green Cuisine
Friday – Sunday, 18:00 – 22:00h
Reservations advised. Call +31 (0)20 638 9901
The exhibition is located at Mediamatic | Post CS | Oosterdokskade 5 | Amsterdam | T 020 638 9901 | www.mediamatic.net
debra at 15:47 | Comments (0) | post to del.icio.us
