Movie madness

Fall food films

By Caroline Cummins

September 13, 2007

Ah, fall. ‘Tis the season when the summer blockbusters fade away and the Serious Films start flickering in movie palaces around the land. Should you feel hungry for some filmmaking about food, check out these current and upcoming films:

“The Real Dirt on Farmer John.” OK, so this little pastoral about Midwestern biodynamic farmer John Peterson has been around since 2005, but it’s still playing the art-house circuit. Check out the screening schedule to see if it’s coming soon to a movie house near you.

“King Corn.” Opening in October, this documentary sounds a bit like “Easy Rider” meets Michael Pollan. In other words, two guys hit the road to grow their own GMO, chemically fertilized corn. And then they try to follow their crop through the food system. Hijinks, presumably, ensue.

The guys from ‘King Corn’ hit the fields.

“Raw for 30 Days.” A twist on Morgan Spurlock’s stuff-yer-face documentary “Super Size Me,” this film follows six diabetic Americans “who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, live, raw foods in order to reverse diabetes naturally.” Can they hack it? Or will they be voted off the healthy-living island? View the trailer and take a guess.

“How to Cook Your Life.” A German documentary profiling Edward Espe Brown, the Zen priest and cook known for his collaborations with Deborah Madison and his Tassajara cookbooks. Opening in October.

Finally, the Society for Agriculture and Food Ecology at the University of California, Berkeley, is hosting an ongoing Food & Farming Film Series, with screenings into December. Upcoming food documentaries include “Our Daily Bread,” the classic “Harvest of Shame,” and “Living on the Wedge.”