ons stival . - California Film Institute

JELLYFisH
blessing of a meal in rails & ties (page
103) quickly alters the tone and relational
dynamics at the dinner table, while in
Clouds over Conakry (page 87), mealtime
serves to produce insightful conversation.
Sometimes a film attracts and enlightens
us with a food-related detail we have not
experienced before, as with the harsh
realities of the mass production of sugar in
the dominican republic documented in
the Price of sugar (page 102). For most
Americans, simply seeing someone eating
raw cane, as the malnourished workers do in
this film, is a revelation.
Is food art, or fuel? Sometimes one,
sometimes the other, most often both and
something more. In spite of simply needing
to eat to live, we exalt in our food when it
looks, smells and tastes good, and we love
variety as well as comfort. In a world of
many cultures there are myriad ways of
cooking and eating, and one of the great
things about movies is the opportunity to
see into other people’s lives, finding out
how they live, what they’re like, the choices
they make—and what and how they eat.
While stories often move us by revealing
the commonalities of human life, it’s the
unique details of difference that draw us
into new ways of thinking about ourselves
and about others.
riding solo to the top of the World (page
104) is an eloquent example of this idea. It
combines the dreamy universal theme of the
pursuit of parts unknown with the specifics
of actual endeavor to create a startlingly
beautifully shot work of art. A one-man
operation, filmmaker and long-distance
motorcyclist Guarav Jani travels via bike
and camera from Mumbai, India, up to the
highest habitable place in the world, the
Changthang Plateau, between the
Himalayas and the karakoram range,
bordering China. Time after time the
mountain people he meets and visits with
invite him to share their food (even when, in
one case, he’s distinctly turned off by a
dish). On a couple of occasions, seasoned
old-timers insist he eat huge platefuls, or
they add meat to their usually vegetarian
dishes, in order to sustain Jani on his
journey. Poor in terms of money, they share
their lives with a sympathetic sojourner.
HoW to Cook Your LiFE
online | mvff.com
It takes an entire local community to come
together to create a film festival, a celebration
of rich artistic expression within the larger
culture. All sorts of people, businesses and
organizations work together to fashion a
network of aesthetic experiences and
practical resources that will entertain and
also take care of Festival goers. If you
haven’t yet discovered these resources at
the Mill Valley Film Festival, your first stop
should be the lovely Outdoor Art Club
(OAC), a century-old retreat just across the
street from the CinéArts@Sequoia theater
in Mill Valley. There’s a pleasant tree-shaded
patio garden and Festival café, where folks
can hang out, eat, drink and rest between
films. Many of the Festival’s receptions,
dinners and parties also take place there,
with food from local restaurants, caterers
and other food purveyors. (see page 24
for more about oaC offerings during the
Festival.)
All this is done to allow us to immerse
ourselves in an art form that takes time to
experience, while enabling us to take care of
ourselves. Which brings us to what you’re
going to do about food before or after your
next film. If you haven’t already done
reconnaissance, Mill Valley and San rafael
are both full of an easy variety of cafés and
restaurants. So come a little early or wander
out after the show, and find a spot to let your
hair down or to discuss a film. dinner and a
movie: a time-honored combination.
Carrie Laing Pickett is a Bay area writer,
editor and longtime cook and is the MVFF
copy editor.
71