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We just arrived back in Toronto after spending a week in beautiful Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The occasion of the trip was Devour, the Food Film Festival, a five-day extravaganza of eighty films, plus three large dinners, prepared by chefs from Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Culinary workshops were taught by well-known chefs and there were also workshops on film-making, foraging, wine-tasting, and cheese-tasting—as well as trips to wineries and breweries.
My reason for writing about the festival here (aside from the hope that some of you might be inspired to attend Devour next year) is to tell you about a few of the movies that inspired me.
Two movies ("Dive" and "The Food Fighter") deal with the question of food waste, showcasing people who work tirelessly to inform us and to persuade (for example) large grocery chains to send their perfectly good packaged products to soup kitchens rather than to the dumpsters behind their stores. Very inspiring stories.
"Billion Dollar Bully" investigates the accusations that Yelp! is running a mob-like extortion scheme.
"The Game Changers" views plant-based eating not just as the best choice environmentally but as a way for athletes to achieve their best results. Fascinating and very persuasive.
Finally, "Maxima" and "Honeyland" are portraits of very strong women thriving in harrowing circumstances. Maxima lives in mountainous Peru, where her small piece of land is coveted by a giant gold-mining company. "Honeyland", set in rural Macedonia, follows the life of a woman who uses ancient traditions in the keeping of her bees.
All of these movies are well worth your time. "The Game Changers" is already on Netflix, so it's easy to find. I urge you to watch for the others during the next year, whether on-line or at your local theatre.
And do go to www.devourfest.com to learn more about the festival, which will celebrate its tenth anniversary next year.
Musings blog: http://www.scenesfromthejourney.blogspot.com
