Ambrosia Food & Drink Film Festival 2019
December 20, 2019
18.00 – 19.00
Press conference.
19.00 – 19.45. The opening ceremony of the film festival.
19.45 — 21.00.
Laura Otálora Chef’s Diaries: Scotland (Spain)
The Roca brothers embark on a new challenge: exploring Scotland. Their journey will see them rediscover a cuisine that has kept itself hidden from the world in the past years.
21 December 2019
10.00 — 12.30
Davide Del Mare Cacciaguida (Italy)
Cacciaguida is a true story and also the nickname given to Vincenzo Casillo by his childhood friends. Vincenzo is not a very talkative kid from Puglia, who spends his days playing in the wheat fields and imagining his future in the territory in which he is growing up, helping his father, Don Ciccio, who works very hard in the old rural mill. His mother, Donna Cardenia, manages to take care of the whole country-house as well as the education of her 8 children, whilst his father, tenacious worker, gives out lessons to the kids on what he knows best: wheat.
Ivan Sainz-Pardo Broccoli (Spain)
Si la vida te da brócoli, pide una pizza. (If life bring you broccoli, order a pizza!)
Magnus Porsmose Petersen, Mikkel Hougaard Sørensen Bolobrain (Denmark)
Two gangsters get in a fiddle after the hostage, they are supposed to blackmail, compliments their spaghetti bolognese.
Andrei Severny Buried Seeds (USA)
The film follows Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna
on his journey as an immigrant.
Born with clubbed feet in
Amritsar, Vikas is bullied by his classmates. Khanna takes refuge in
his grandmothers kitchen and discovers his passion for the vivid
traditions of Indian cuisine.
At the age of 29, Vikas moves to
New York with nothing in his pocket and ends up in a homeless
shelter. Through years of struggle and hard work Vikas opens his
first Indian restaurant in Manhattan.
Vikas Khanna grows to
become one of the most influential chefs in the world and a cultural
ambassador of his nation. While wealth and glory may be transient,
what truly defines him is the will to create himself every single
day.
Mabel Aurora, Carabelli Del Nido Gulambre (Argentina, Chile)
Every day Azul wakes up late and has breakfast with candy (even having breakfast made by Mother), lunch fast food and dinner in front of the TV. Until one day he wakes up with a hole in the belly. It is then that Grandpa calls him to review “the book” with which they will be guided to learn to fish and plant.
Jacek Szymanski Sharries Berries (Poland)
Berries in chocolate.
André Almeida Rodrigues Break, Break, Break (Portugal)
Ami Phi Pineapplism (USA)
‘Not all fruits are created equal’. Billy, a boy whose family practices a religion called Pineapplism, tries to eat the forbidden fruit for the first time in his life.
Lou Ma Ho The Tea at the Bottom of the Teapot (France)
In 19th century Vietnam, Chau is a young bubbling man who does not control his emotions. His meeting with a woman, Master of tea, will upset his life.
12.30 — 13.00 Coffee break.
13.00 — 15.00
Jacek Szymanski Black Series #1 (Poland)
Jacek Szymański is a food and live action director/cinematographer specializing in food commercials with impressive tabletop shots and high speed motion control.
Adam Park The Amber Light (UK)
In this journey through the lesser-known parts of Scottish whisky culture, we follow spirits writer Dave Broom on his quest to gain a deeper understanding of his national drink. While whisky has never been as popular, it is often seen in the context of being a brand which sits outside people’s lives. It’s often thought of as a drink which speaks of the past rather than engaged with a dynamic present.
Christopher Martini Pastalight (USA)
An eccentric Italian father and his son set out to start their own pasta sauce company. But can they cut it in the merciless world of New York gourmet?
Roberto Serrini Tillamook – Extra Cream (USA)
Tillamook asked for dairy with passion. They wanted to see the real love they put into their product as simply as possible. We obviously immediately thought “Chainsaws and Ice Cream”.
15.00 — 16.00. Lunch break
16.00 — 18.30
Alvaro Moreno (R)evolution Champenoise, the Vineyard Rules (Spain)
Champagne is probably the vineyard that has been most industrialized in France. The economic success of Champagne has led to the omission of traditional viticultural practices and the use of synthetic chemicals. This documentary is a tribute to the winemakers of the Champagne (vignerons), whose respect for the soil and love of the vineyard are causing an authentic revolution in the production of Champagne
Jacek Szymanski Lubella Świderki (Poland)
Food & Drink Commercials
Alexandra Gascón It’s so hot! (Spain)
Once upon a time there was a blonde girl in shorts on TV. It was summer and it was very hot. She only wanted to have fun and eat an ice-lolly. Heat, beach, do you prefer lemon or strawberry?
André Laranjinha Wine) (Portugal)
Pico island, Azores. A lava crust in the middle of
the Atlantic Ocean, where it’s inhabitants, in lack of good soil,
drove the vine into the stone.
Lashed by the ocean winds and by
the winter cold descending the mountain, the vine thrives in the
draughtiness of the stone with the aid of men, whose lives revolve
around the vine and wine culture.
Nathan Agin Food Truck Chefs (USA)
Food Truck Chefs examines the reality of owning a food truck through the stories of three different food truck businesses. Similarities emerge between the owners when sharing the common hardships they’ve faced while creating a food truck and what it takes to maintain one. This documentary showcases the inspiring stories of food truck chefs who face the daily challenges of owning a food truck.
18.30 – 19.00 Coffee break.
19.00 — 21.00
Tomas L Brickhill Cook Off (Zimbabwe)
A struggling single mother from downtown Harare enters a reality TV cooking show.
Alberto Martín-Aragón Indigestion (Spain)
Eating can be a pleasure, but it can also be a direct path to torture if you do not care about the quality of the food you eat. “Indigestion” is a surrealistic and comical short film about the effects that a poisoned food can cause in the mind.
Tatsuya Ino Higa’s Traveling Kitchen (Japan)
Visual expressions that shows real aspects of people and place mainly in non-fictional genre.
22 December 2019
10.00 — 12.30
Klaas de Jong, Marc Waltman Wine Masters — Italy (Netherlands)
Wine Masters is an independent cinematic documentary series on terroir, taste and tradition through the experience of some of the most prestigious wine producing families from each wine region in Italy.
Alex García Martinez Remixers (Spain)
Is a show that the Xemei brothers, the Italians twins that own the go-to places in Barcelona, have made to showcase authentic, back-to-roots, experiences in food. They learn and then create a new food experience on-site, like a music remix played only once, starting with Elkano which is like the grilled-fish temple in the world, and had never let anyone in their kitchen before.
Roberto Serrini Nobelhart & Shmutzig (Germany)
Cross from Checkpoint Charlie in the heart of Old Berlin is a non-descript windowless building which houses one of the greatest dining experiences in the world. No cameras are allowed inside so this must be some sort of a mistake. Or is it.
12.30 — 13.00 Coffee break.
13.00 — 15.00
Marko Raat Kitchen Triptych (Estonia)
‘A day in the life’ of the kitchens of some of Estonia’s top restaurants.
Mehvish Rather Backyard Chefs (India)
Whether it is weddings or funerals, these backyard chefs cook one of the most elaborate cuisines in the world, almost entirely made of meat and serve it to the guest who has no option of refusing any of the courses. We travel through the suburbs and urban areas of Kashmir to find how these Backyard Chefs set up their workshop behind a house, and work tirelessly to create the culinary magic which is Wazwan.
Andre Pellenz Taste Matts (Brazil)
A settled and stubborn brazilian chef falls in love with a young and determined manager, sent by the investing partners to make the business turn profit, with authority to even change the menu. Challenged by the arrogance of the young woman, he takes up his old creative grip – but at this moment he discovers that his sense of taste has gone. But he finds a solution in a new and bizarre menu, based on brazilian traditions and african-related religions.
Jacek Szymanski Melvit (Poland)
Food & Drink Commercials.
Manjula Varghese Anchor Beer: a beer unlike any other (USA)
Brew Master at Anchor Brewing Company, Scott Ungermann shares the unique history of the company and their specialized approach to brewing beer known as steam beer.
15.00 — 16.00. Lunch break
16.00 — 18.30
Marianna Economou When Tomatoes Met Wagner (Greece)
In a dying farming village in central Greece, two cousins and five women decide to do things differently. With a little help from Wagner, Christopher Columbus and local myths, they cultivate an ancient tomato seed and enter the world market with their organic products. With humour and poetry, the film speaks to us about the power of human relationships, the ability to see life and the world differently and the importance of reinventing oneself during difficult times.
Roberto Serrini The Perfect Pastrami (Germany)
NYC is a town built on Pastrami. In this meat-crazy metropolis it can be difficult to find the greatest pastrami sandwich on Earth. It can be difficult, that is, unless you’ve had Will Horowitz’s Pastrami from his grandparents recipe. Then it’s very very clear.
Roberto Serrini The Be End Burger (Germany)
The Greatest Burger ever built by humans has been recorded in mind blowing stop animation. No bun? No … no bun … this burger is beyond the petty bun.
Jacek Szymanski BREAD (Poland)
Good times with slo mo in old bakery.
Diana Dai My Farmland (Canada)
My Farmland explores how Chinese national and Chinese immigrants’ investments are affecting traditional Canada’s agricultural sector by following three families: two in tiny Saskatchewan farming communities, the other in the wine-making region of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. The film tells a very human story of how communities react to an influx of people from a different culture who hope for a better life by working the land.
Tatsuya Ino Ice farmers
Tokujiro IV and his buddies grow natural ice. They fill ponds with the natural water from the Nikko mountain range and let it develop into ice only by taking advantage of the coldness of the winter.
Janek Tarkowski Pulpe Fiction (Frace)
Which luscious candidate will pass the casting?
18.30 — 19.00 Coffee break.
19.00 — 20.15
Oren Rosenfeld Hummus! the Movie (Israel)
An eclectic, touching film about hummus, the delicious super food sweeping across Europe and America. Secret recipes, a Guinness World Record and the power of hummus to bring Muslims, Christians and Jews together – in the Middle East, America and around the world.
20.15 – 21.00 Award ceremony.