Food & Agriculture 2014

Growing Cities

Growing Cities

Dan Susman/2013/60 min/Food & Agriculture

In their search for answers, filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette take a road trip and meet the men and women who are challenging the way this country grows and distributes its food, one vacant city lot, rooftop garden, and backyard chicken coop at a time. Join them as they discover that good food isn’t the only crop these urban visionaries are harvesting. They’re producing stronger and more vibrant communities, too.

More Than Honey

More Than Honey

Markus Imhoof/ 2013/ 95 min/ Food & Agriculture

Over the past 15 years, numerous colonies of bees have been decimated throughout the world, but the causes of this disaster remain unknown. Depending on the world region, 50% to 90% of all local bees have disappeared, and this epidemic is still spreading from beehive to beehive – all over the planet. Everywhere, the same scenario is repeated: billions of bees leave their hives, never to return. 

Sushi: The Global Catch

Sushi: The Global Catch

Mark Hall/2012/75 min/ Food & Agriculture

ushi, a cuisine formerly found only in Japan, has grown exponentially in other nations, and an industry has been created to support it. In a rush to please a hungry public, the expensive delicacy has become common and affordable, appearing in restaurants, supermarkets and even fast food trailers. The traditions requiring 7 years of apprenticeship in Japan have given way to quick training and mass-manufactured solutions elsewhere. This hunger for sushi has led to the depletion of apex predators in the ocean, including bluefin tuna, to such a degree that it has the potential to upset the ecological balance of the world’s oceans, leading to a collapse of all fish species.

Urban Roots

Urban Roots

Mark MacInnis/ 2011/ 94 min/ Food & Agriculture

URBAN ROOTS is a documentary that tells the story of the spontaneous emergence of urban farming in the city of Detroit. Detroit, once an industrial powerhouse of a lost American era, is a city devastated by the loss of half its population due to the collapse of manufacturing. By the looks of it, the city has died. But now, against all odds, in the empty lots, in the old factory yards, and in-between the sad, sagging blocks of company housing, seeds of change are taking root.

Watermelon Magic

Watermelon Magic

Richard Hoffman/ 2013/ 38 min/ Food & Agriculture

FILM INFORMATION: Watermelon Magic is like no other film. It’s a sweet combination of story and science and the first big screen film devoted one of our most basic human needs: healthy food. International audiences will delight in this nearly wordless burst of color and music. Weaving together documentary and narrative elements, Watermelon Magic chronicles a season on the family farm, as young Sylvie grows a patch of watermelons to sell at market. How will she let her babies go?