Food and Country director Laura Gabbert, producer Ruth Reichl and cinematographer Martina Radwan

The documentary Food and Country, which premiered at the 2023
Sundance film festival, takes a close look at the broken food
system in the United States through the lens of the COVID pandemic,
as restaurants closed and both workers and farmers struggled. Both
director Laura Gabbert and producer/chef/food writer Ruth Reichl
grew concerned about their friends and colleagues in the restaurant
business during the shutdown. Laura wanted to do a short piece
about how restaurants and workers were being affected, so she
connected with Ruth through a mutual friend. Ruth began checking in
over Zoom with people she knew, originally just as research. Ruth
followed her own curiosity as she spoke with dozens of people
across the country. As a seasoned chef and food writer, Ruth is
good at getting people to open up, and people felt safe talking to
her. The shutdown also made people feel very isolated and
vulnerable, so over time, they were able to record incredibly
intimate conversations. Laura began to see a more comprehensive
documentary taking shape: the pandemic was only exacerbating the
problems that already exist in the American food system. They began
widening the scope of the film, and when it was safe to travel
again, Laura and cinematographer Martina Radwan went out to shoot
and interview farmers, ranchers and restaurant owners in the
field.  The documentary team had to watch hundreds of hours of
Zoom video, which also informed what they would shoot as they
traveled across the country. Cinematographer Martina Radwan kept
everything naturally lit, and they shot most of the interviews
outside due to the pandemic. She chose to use mainly wide shots and
close ups, shooting open vistas and landscapes of the farms. It
helped create more energy in the film and alleviated the monotony
of the closeups from the Zoom videos. She shot with Canon cameras
and lenses, because she liked how the camera renders contrast and
color especially for exteriors. Martina enjoyed learning about the
food system and getting a behind the scenes look at where our food
comes from. As someone who has been writing and thinking about food
for fifty years, Ruth thought the pandemic would finally be the
turning point in the American food system. If farmers and
restaurants were going to fail, people would finally realize, as
they were forced to stay home and cook, how important food is to
everyone. She hopes that people are awakened to the fact that we
need to raise enough food to feed ourselves in this country,
without relying on huge international agribusiness. The pandemic
did change some things about the food system, and certainly raised
awareness about working conditions and pay for restaurant workers,
ranchers and farmers. Food and Country is seeking distribution.
Find Laura Gabbert: https://lauragabbertfilms.com/ Instagram:
@lauragabbertfilms Find Ruth Reichl: http://ruthreichl.com/
Instagram: @ruth.reichl Find Martina Radwan:
http://martinaradwandp.com/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras:
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