ON THE CUTTING BOARD @vittlesfilms-blog - Tumblr Blog

Posts

Spending the morning getting to know NC farmworkers on the powerful and moving Into The Fields blog, written by saf-unite doc interns.

During our second interview, Demetrio showed us pictures of his newborn son who still doesn’t have a name. He seemed proud and sad at the same time. We asked about what he wondered and at first, he said he didn’t ask himself or wonder anything, but after we explained the prompt again and gave a few examples, he said he wondered everyday if the rest of his life would be like this, separated and away from his family. The room felt dense, almost like you could feel the weight that he carries. It’s not just that he has to miss big and important family moments like the birth of a child, but it’s knowing everyday his children are growing up, trying new things and learning about themselves and the people that they want to become, while he’s not there to see or influence it.

- Catherine Crowe, 2015 SAF Fellow

#saf

PBS Online Film Festival

Grab some chicharrones and a bottle of jarritos — it's film festival time!

From now until July 17th you can watch and vote for the Vittles short film Un Buen Carnicero in the PBS Online Film Festival. After kindly casting your vote for Tolo and Cliff, consider taking some time to enjoy some of the other 25 films in this wonderful curated festival. Our short list includes Sugarless Tea and Isabelle's Garden. (Shameless post script: you may vote once a day, every day. Ain't that nice?)

WATCH & VOTE

CLAM DAMN THANK YA MA'AM

Wow, y'all know how to show the love.

The smell of freshly cooked clams drifted thru the The Cookery on a beautiful Spring evening as over 100 contestants shouted for their favorite ugly fish to make them a lucky bingo winner. Food industry tastemakers and local food system organizers helped fill the room with neighbors, long-time Vittles supporters and the seafood curious alike to watch a screening of "Collards In The Cafeteria" and the premiere of "Freshly Retired."

Following the screening, special guest Chef Kris Reid offered a stirring testimonial on the reasons she devotes herself to the immense challenge of bringing local, real food into the institutions responsible for the young, old and unwell. She encouraged guests to share and use the Vittles / 10% Campaign film series to start the conversations within those institutions and to seek out opportunities to volunteer with folks like Food Corps in schools. The NC 10% Campaign team was also on hand to help folks plug into and commit their food dollars within their extensive partnership network.

We are so very grateful to all those who came out to take part in the fun and help underwrite this continuing film series, along with our dear friends at Pie Pushers and The Cookery, which donated the space and all of their bar proceeds from the evening. Big thanks also to all of our Ugly Fish Bingo prize donors; The Counting House, Parlor, Lil' Farm, Local Seafood and the Scrap Exchange—where you too can find an awesome trophy to help share the love.

All photos by Victoria Bouloubasis.

Lions & Lambs

Mr. Ari Picker, a wildly gifted composer and Vittles contributor (Grace's One & Only Casseroni, Un Buen Carnicero) has been commissioned by Duke Performance to create a new work inspired by Book of Hours, Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry masterpiece. An superb ensemble of indie rock and classical musicians will be performing the world premiere on March 27th and 28th at Duke University. We'll see you there.

Learn more and order tickets today.

Last Night | Kitchen Patrol Benefit and Screening

Nearly four months after the completion of "Un Buen Carnicero," Cliff Collins had yet to see the Vittles short documentary about his namesake butcher shop. "I seen parts of it here and there, on a phone, but not the whole thing, not like this," said a very pleased Collins following the screening event at Lantern just down the road in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Director Victoria Bouloubasis personally walked Collins from the shop to Lantern, stopping often so he could catch up with all the familiar faces along the way.

Collins and fellow butcher Tolo Martinez , joined over 50 ticketed guests to benefit Kitchen Patrol, Lantern's weekly cooking class for local children to help them discover the skills and inspiration they need for a lifetime of cooking and eating good food. "A very significant portion of our small budget was raised tonight," said Kitchen Patrol coordinator Vera Fabian. Chef Bill Smith, in attendance with members of the Crook's Corner kitchen staff, will be next week's guest chef at Kitchen Patrol, teaching students to make green gumbo and Atlantic Beach pie. If, like us, you're suddenly wishing to be back in elementary school, take a moment to enjoy this wonderful NPR Found Recipes segment on Smith's renowned pie.

Thank you to Lantern Chef Andrea Reusing and her incredible staff for making the time and effort to create a special evening to share our work. Thanks also to Collins for making the long walk and to the fine folks at the Southern Foodways Alliance, for helping to make this film possible.

Our next Vittles benefit screening event will be May 14th, at The Cookery in Durham, where we'll premiere a new short doc produced in partnership with the N.C. 10% Campaign. There will be one-of-a-kind Pie Pushers pizza, beer and bingo, stay tuned for more details.

#event #carnicero #sfa

Meat + The American Dream = Un Buen Carnicero

Our newest documentary, Un Buen Carnicero (A Good Butcher), goes behind the courtesies of the butcher's counter at Cliff's Meat Market in Carrboro, N.C., on the eve of Independence Day to explore the complex realities of immigrant life. This bilingual short film, produced in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance, celebrates this unique, small town institution with an ever evolving clientele and butcher staff. As owner Cliff Collins says, "Getcha a fifth for the fourth on the third."

#film #butcher #short #vittles #sfa

Hot Damn! What a spread. Honored to screen our newest short Un Buen Carnicero for the bi-annual Stir The Pot event at CAM Raleigh to benefit the film's supporters, the Southern Foodways Alliance. Big thanks to all who brought a dish (catfish patê you say?), the folks at ONE for infusing figs and rye whiskey, John T. for the kind words and A.C. for the love and steadfast support. We'll keep you posted on the film's rollout.

#SFA #CAM

Happy Holidays

#familyfarm #farm

Farmers in North Carolina are slightly older and a little scarcer, according to a new census released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday.

And the number of farmers under 25 has decreased too.

From 1935 to 1945, the government’s Farm Security Administration paid photographers to document conditions on farms across the United States. Some of the resulting images, made by artists including Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, and Ben Shahn, have become iconic representations of life during the Depression. But the agency...

Retired social worker, author and researcher Joe Manning is trying to find the people featured in these 175,000 negatives and uncover their backstories.

FRIDAY LUNCH SPECIAL

THE GAP; By Ira Glass, Directed by Daniel Sax (frohlocke)

On The Menu - A beautiful 2:18 short that illustrates an inspirational monologue by “The American Life” host Ira Glass about the gap that exists between one's taste and one’s skill over the course of a career.

May We Suggest - Irregardless of how you feel about Ira’s on-air delivery, TAL has set an amazingly high bar for creative and meaningful ways to share true life stories. This short offers tremendous perspective and wisdom for anyone looking to improve their craft, even outside of the creative industry. - D.L. Anderson

David Shiyang Liu’s version of this same monologue was the inspiration for Mr. Sax’s new take on it. Creatively feeding creativity. Hopefully this will feed yours.

The Friday Lunch Special is an serial endorsement of the films and filmmakers we are inspired by, shared by a Vittles producer.

#lunchspecial

FRIDAY LUNCH SPECIAL

Bayou Maharajah; The Tragic Genius of James Booker, Directed by Lily Keber

On The Board - Bayou Maharajah explores the life and music of New Orleans piano legend James Booker, the man Dr. John described as “the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced.”

May We Suggest - Early in my tenure at the Independent Weekly, Editor Richard Hart introduced me to the stunning brilliance of James Booker. It was around this time of year, Mardi Gras, that Hart, a New Orleans native, could hardly contain his excitement as he began to tell me about Booker's unbelievable story and talent. He gave me a copy of “GONZO: All the 45’s” and was hooked. I mentioned learning about Booker to my friend, and another brilliant pianist, Phil Cook (@phillygardner) and his excitement was even more amplified, his arms flapped. We had to sit down. “Oh man. Have you seen him play?” We pulled up You Tube and watched a live performance of “True” at Montreux. Wow. I was laid out flat. Who the hell was this guy?

Over the course of this wholly engrossing 90 min. documentary, filled with lush archival footage of Crescent City street scenes, Lily Keber deftly crafts a grand lyrical space for Booker to reveal himself in full. Only the very best parts of illuminating interviews with a wonderful cast of musicians that shared space with him are used. Concert footage and recordings are allowed to play in their entirety. In this way, Keber offers a remarkable contribution to the documentary music profile form and, more importantly, finally gives this legendary “Black Liberachi” his due. - D.L. Anderson

Ready to Order? - This weekend, as a part of the not-to-be-missed Mardis Gras celebration Hey Pocky Way in Durham, N.C., there will be a special screening of Bayou Maharajah at the Pinkhook at noon on Sunday, March 2nd. Order Your Tickets or show up with $5 and be prepared to be amazed and possible cry in your beer.

The Friday Lunch Special is an endorsement of the films and filmmakers we are inspired by, shared by a Vittles producer.

#heypockyway #lunchspecial shindigsnc

Strange Beauty Film Festival

It's time to submit your film to Durham's weirdest local film festival- The Strange Beauty Film Festival. @StrangeBeautyFF The guidelines are the same as always--30 minutes or less, any shape or form, strangely beautiful, beautifully strange, or some combination thereof. The festival has shifted dates to June 12 - 14 at Manbites Dog Theatre so the deadline is now March 1, 2014. Plenty of time to get that new piece finished, right?

Enter Strange Beauty Film Fest

#strangebeautyfilmfest vittles durham #manbitesdog

'Cook School' Screening This Weekend!

Nancy Gould’s food service course is one of the most popular within the North Carolina State Prison system, but will her class be able to pull off a fine dinning experience for 60 volunteer patrons behind the gates of Orange Correctional Center? The five-month course is administered by Piedmont Community College and graduating inmates earn 16 credits toward a degree if they can stand the heat. 'Cook School'

The Vittles short will screen at the 11th Annual Oxford Film Festival in Oxford, Mississippi Friday, Feb.7 at 4:00pm and Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2:00pm. Sign up here.

#oxfordfilmfest vittles cookschool #southernfoodwaysalliance

Spending a magical week at Made In NYC / IFP Labs w bacon wallpapered theater. #ifp @farmer_veteran

Andrea produced the wonderful animated short "Some Like it Raw" which is a crowd favorite on the Vittles site. Earlier this year she finished another animation project profiling Boulton Farm, for the Jefferson Land Trust in Washington State.

"Preserving working farmland is a large part of JLT's mission, and they were interested in telling the story of one of their current projects through my animation. I used all the standard material- wire-frame, needle felted dolls, paper, cardboard, fabric, and some clay. It was a true joy to make."

Andrea asks viewers to consider contributing to JLT so they might feel compelled to continue supporting community outreach projects like this one. Find them here: http://www.saveland.org/

#vittles #BoultonFarm

Luke Moody compiles a list of animal features and talks about the endoscopic camera eye in the new nature documentary.

"Perhaps as technological development permits us to see the animal’s world much closer, from zoomorphic perspectives, the ethical position of new nature documentary will be one of deep empathy rather than distant sympathy, not a question of ‘how do we look at’, but ‘how do we see as’.

How do we feel and see as the animal? The answer is not simply attaching a camera to an animal’s head. After watching Leviathan it appears that a disembodied camera offers the presence and point of view of a camera body not the prosthetic host.

Why preference the position of the eye being the position of the body as a whole: the body-vision. What happens if we view the world from a camera attached to the bear’s claw, the whale’s fin or bird’s wing? Each body parts give distinct qualities of movement, texture and pace very different from the eye. Why not embody these movements? Would the human viewer become nauseous? Would this form of sensorial cinema be unwatchable?

On a very simple level: how do the new images we are afforded by these technologies make us feel when watched at length? I would argue that in the case of Leviathan they make us feel less human, less animal and more like an indestructibly prodding, endoscopic camera eye."

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

ON THE CUTTING BOARD