Last Man Fishing
Where does our food come from? What does it mean to source locally? Where do the chemicals used on corn fields end up? Who are “small-scale fishermen” and why are they important?
Three films featured in the third annual Food & Farms Film Festival aim to answer those questions and more on March 5, at the High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave.
This year’s theme is “downstream,” says FairShare CSA Coalition executive director Carrie Sedlak, and three films will explore the impact everyday food choices have on a community.
“Inspiration, awareness and information are big goals for the event,” Sedlak says. “We like to bring the community together to dig into deeper issues.”
This year’s films are Local Thirty, Big River and Last Man Fishing; each will be followed by a short talk or Q & A addressing a specific issue.
CSA farmer Andrea Bemis will share her story of seeking a locally grown and sourced diet for 30 days in Local Thirty.
“Last spring, I opened my pantry to grab a can of coconut milk and had an epiphany,” Bemis says in an interview with Isthmus. “I started at that little tin and thought, ‘I don’t even know where this comes from.’ ”
So Bemis, a blogger and author of the cookbook Dishing Up the Dirt, set out on a 30-day mission to explore her local food system, and Local Thiry was born.
“It’s not just about eating local food,” Bemis says. “It’s about rediscovering home and being connected. It’s about finding people, most often strangers, and discovering how little pieces of their world can make up yours.”
Bemis is the festival’s first nationally-recognized guest, says Sedlak. “It was a little bit of a pipe dream [to get her]. She’s a big deal in the foodie world, and we’re thrilled to have her come to Madison.”
Big River is a semi-comic sequel to the documentary King Corn. Filmmakers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, who in that film planted an acre of corn in Iowa, here follow the course of the chemicals applied to an Iowa cornfield all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. They do it up close and personal — in a canoe. And while it is often light-hearted in presentation, the issues it raises are serious. Scott Laeser, water program director witht Clean Wisconsin, will speak following that screening.
Also screening will be select scenes from Last Man Fishing, a film that highlights the challenges of small-scale, sustainable fishing businesses. Nicolaas Mink, founder and president of Sitka Salmon Shares, will share some of this community-supported fishery’s story after the screening.
Sedlak says the talks are designed to create a call to action. People “might feel it’s difficult to know all of the issues that go into making decisions about the food we choose to eat,” Sedlak says. The films, she hopes, will help audience members be able to take a next step if they want to.
She also hopes people realize how important local farmers are and feel the strong sense of community in our region’s food system: “I love looking around the room and feeling that tangible inspiration and excitement.”
Tickets to Food & Farms Film Festival are $12 in advance or $15 the day of the festival. Doors open at 6 p.m., screenings begin at 7 p.m. Snacks will be provided by Madison Sourdough and Sitka Salmon Shares.
