Category Archives: Releases

Coming to PBS’ Independent Lens next Monday, January 14: SOUL FOOD JUNKIES

Byron Hurt’s exploration of the impact of soul food on African American health made its premiere at the American Black Film Festival in Miami this past Summer, where it picked up the best documentary award. It received similar recognition at Urbanworld in the Fall, and has also screened at Reel Sisters as well as several community screenings. Beyond the broadcast, ITVS is also screening the doc in more than a hundred cities nationwide as part of its Community Cinema engagement program.

Concern about his father’s eating habits inspired Hurt to investigate African Americans’ diets, focusing on the history and culture around soul food, and how it has contributed to health problems like obesity and diabetes. Though himself a vegetarian, Hurt travels around the country to learn more about African American food traditions and how they came to be, often as a legacy of slavery and segregation. This yields interesting findings, such as the existence of a regular guidebook black travelers used in the past to find safe places to eat on the road, or the corresponding development of the custom of packing meals during travel because of this difficulty, as well as the transformation of Southern cooking into what’s now known as soul food. Covering not only the more indulgent aspects of the cuisine that have been linked to numerous health issues, but also the problem of food deserts in lower income communities, Hurt offers an eye-opening look at black communities’ relationship to food, and the possibility of more healthy alternatives.

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, January 15: BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN

Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky’s exposé on the dark side of Brooklyn’s development made its world premiere at Hot Docs in 2011. Since then it has screened extensively at fests and series like the Brooklyn Film Festival, San Francisco Doc, Chicago Underground, Rooftop Films, and Stranger Than Fiction, as well as in theatres around the country, and also made the 2012 Oscar shortlist.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, January 8: BETTING THE FARM

Cecily Pingree and Jason Mann’s portrait of Maine dairy farmer collective made its world premiere last Summer at Silverdocs. It has gone on to screen at Camden and DOC NYC, as well as a tour of engagements in Maine. FilmBuff is releasing the doc on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Playstation, XBOX, CinemaNow, and Vudu.

I previously wrote about the film in my coverage of Silverdocs for Indiewire, saying:
The economic realities for small organic dairy producers are presented in an effective and dramatic manner in Cecily Pingree and Jason Mann’s look at the efforts of a consortium of milk producers striking out on their own as MOO – Maine’s Own Organic milk. Translating the pace of the region in the same way docs like DOWNEAST and THE WAY WE GET BY have done, Pingree and Mann are able to engender in the viewer an emotional investment in their characters, as well as a desire to see MOO succeed.