Primal Alchemy: Cooking What Nature Provides - Review

“I believe that having the Earth and not ruining it is the most beautiful form of art you could wish for” said Andy Warhol.

And in a world that is unfortunately still very prolific in terms of non-recyclable materials, trying to live in a sustainable way is undoubtedly a form of art but also a necessary transgression.

Directed by Mia Moraes, Primal Alchemy: Cooking What Nature Provides, Episode 3: Cabrillo is a short documentary that shows us a fascinating and admirable reality where there is no waste, where "go green"  is normality, and where the respect for the land and its fruits is an unbreakable rule.

In view of  a big and totally sustainable event, Chef Paul Buchanan - co-owner of Primal Alchemy Catering - takes us with him to the farmers' market where we really understand  that  "Where the farmers start, the cooks finish". 

Step by step we discover how choosing the right ingredients is essential for  a menu that has to be healthy but at the same time capable of aesthetically surprising the customer.

We thus discover a working environment where serenity and joy are added to the ingredients that make a valid and close-knit team, and where satisfaction and eco-sustainability walk hand in hand.

An extremely educational, genuine and passionate documentary that gives the pleasant illusion to  smell and taste what the sellers grow.

We can breathe love,  attention to detail... and grace. 

“No provincial city in the United Kingdom, perhaps, is the subject of so general an interest, as the city of Manchester. Its fame has penetrated wherever the elevating influences of civilization have found their way, and the products of its industry, and the impress of its power, may be seen in every corner of the inhabited globe” wrote George Bradshaw.

It is no coincidence that Vivian Tsang, director and producer of The New Immigrants- Hong Kongers,  decided not only to move to Manchester but also to make a film about the impact that the city has on people like her who have left Hong Kong to retire  in this peaceful and fascinating British town.

The documentary shows us with familiar and accommodating shots the life of these immigrants struggling in the new city, but above all with its  rhythm  definitely different from the tireless and crowded Hong Kong.

Times are slower, life flows calmly, the food is healthier, the museums, the small shops, the kindness of the people in welcoming “foreigners” and making them part of their core. And we discover all this with naturalness and sensitivity, as if we were part of them.

A good  film about integration and the courage to change.

Please welcome inside the complexity of human mind!

Written and directed by Nini Caroline Skarpaas Myhrvold and Espen Jan Folmo, LOOK UP—The Science of Cultural Evolution is an engaging and stimulating immersion in discovering the links between science and cultural wisdom.

Who are we? What do we think? What leads us to be who we are and how can we best face our life?

A mix of social, spiritual and scientific themes allows us to fully understand how human evolution has changed over time and how modern technologies positively and negatively affect every human being.

In fact, we can easily understand what we see on the surface but it is very difficult to understand what we contain inside us.

Narrated with clarity by a female voice  - also thanks to the great expertise in psychology of both directors - the film allows an interesting look focused on therapy and how this can be an extremely important means in discovering ourselves and managing our feelings; psychotherapy, meticulously described in every aspect, is seen as the key to solving adversities, anxieties typical of modern times, and traumas from the past which often have repercussions on the present and future.

Thanks to an extremely exhaustive montage made of real and animated images and graphics, the documentary offers a long lesson  easily understandable (and suitable)  for a young audience too. 

An exciting topic curated and directed with wisdom and passion.

“Sometimes when you're scared to take a look

at the corner of the room

You've sensed that something's watching you....”

These verses of a famous song by Iron Maiden definitely resume the atmosphere of Sewing a Nightmare, a film directed by Louise Mason that puts the viewer in front of a noir thriller where a young tailor suffers the cumbersome presence of an entity that begins to persecute her day and night. 

Moving blankets, strange phone calls, the feeling of being watched or followed.

Tension is constant, as much as anxiety and apprehension.

Editing and sound work perfectly well and increase the suspense that hovers in every internal or external scene. Louise Mason, also  protagonist of the film, demonstrates a naturalness and naivety that undoubtedly amplify the sense of mystery and terror that make the film a pleasant surprise.

“Young hearts, run free…” like the pages of this beautiful script written by Gary Mazeffa.

Asherah’s colors is a carefree love story between Raphael, a young and naive French exchange student, and the beautiful and charismatic Asherah, a spanish American girl.

Together with them we breathe the joy of the first date, the shyness of the first glances, the words spoken with fear, the restrained desire to touch each other, to kiss each other...but above all the desire to amaze and make happy the person we are with.

The entire script revolves around Asherah's love for impressionist art and Raphael who, in order to make her happy, takes her to meet his grandfather Gene Duaiv: a French American impressionist artist and her wife Magella, a former ballet dancer.

The artist's atelier will be the stage of  a memorable dinner where The two couples  begin to know a little more about  each other; from this moment on  love and art become the same thing. 

The colors mix with emotions, the drawings come to life, romanticism becomes a fundamental part of the paintings around them.

"It’s all about capturing a special moment in time. If successful... time stops, and the memory lives forever” as the famous painter explains to the guys.

A bittersweet screenplay well written and very well described, where reality and dreams meet and hold each others hands.

“I am sailing, I am sailing

Home again, 'cross the sea

I am sailing stormy waters

To be near you, to be free..”

Do you remember this song?  While watching Norway it echoed in my head the entire time.

This short documentary directed by Erik Jacobsen takes us to the icy northern waters along one of the most fascinating coastlines in the world.

Thanks to a funicular we admire Bergen from above: known as 'the city of Seven Mountains' and famous for its colorful wooden houses and historic wharf that sits on the harbor overlooking the scenic Byfjorden.

It is right from here that we get on board the legendary Hurtigruten line and prepare our eyes  and our heart to admire the warm villages's  colors compared to the cold northern light.   

We set sail towards pristine wonders, snow covered peaks and lush silent landscapes where only the noise of nature and the currents swirling beneath the visible surface can be heard.

Jacobsen's voice accompanies us along the entire cruise as a good friend with whom we are exploring thIs breathtaking wonder.

With him we playfully invoke the God Neptune, we breathe the salty smell of the air and of  Norwegian seafood; we freeze  with him and his lovely wife while they enjoy a drink at the famous Artico Ice Bar and we admire enchanted the ancient Viking  customs, their food, their music.

It's a passionate journey.  A fascinating return to the ancient origins.

Thank you for this incredible adventure, Mr. Jacobsen!

This is not only the story of a dream but also the exciting journey that traces an incredible adventure to discover one of the most fascinating places in the world.

The Patagonia Triple Crown directed by Nomade Media is an extreme and adrenaline-filled experience that takes us to discover  three impetuous and unknown rivers: The Pascua River, Bravo and Baker.

Lorenzo Andrade - writer and producer of the film - Evan Garcia, Martin Specht, Eric Parker, Jared Seiler, Todd Wells, Kyle Hull & Diego Astorga are the daredevil protagonists of this thrilling  mission to conquer the most restless waters on the planet.

The beauty of this documentary lies mainly in the fact that the viewer - thanks to spectacular shots - feels as an integral part of the splendid team of kayakers who, full of courage and passion, set off on this mission, which is, to say the least, arduous and risky.

Aboard a jeep we travel the dirt roads, we prepare the food necessary for the expedition, we laugh at accidents along the way and we are moved and amazed by the immense beauty that lies before our eyes.

High waters, wild currents, breathtakingly steep :the constant danger is as strong as the desire to succeed in the undertaking. 

This is a spectacular  challenge between the man and  the imposing power of nature in all its splendor, in all its majestic and roaring bestiality. 

A compelling and dynamic documentary, where you can breathe friendship, and which with great humanity also manages to highlight a dramatic aspect of Chile: the privatization of water - which came into force with the famous 'Codigo de Agua' approved by  Augusto Pinochet in 1981 - which still dramatically afflicts an entire population.

Dance, universal language as much as love, is the protagonist of this film.

TutuTango is the engaging story of the encounter  between two different bodies, two different worlds, two different dances... divided into four acts.

Four acts that in just 7 minutes manage to excite and immerse the spectator in the romantic collaboration/relationship between a ballet  dancer (Nicole Assad) and a tango dancer (Fede Terra). Lightness on one side, and fury on the other.

I see you, the moment when everything happens, the meeting.

I prepare for you... the waiting, the desire, the longing, the needing to become perfect for each other.

I feel you... grace and passion finally meet, touching each other, breathing  each other.

I miss you... the inevitable separation, the farewell or perhaps just a goodbye before a future new performance.

A Pas de deux  between two souls in movement where differences and emotions mark time even more than music.

Static black and white photographs that magically come to life, giving shape and meaning to the uncertainty and frenzy of falling in love and the magic that can arise between two people.

What really makes this beautiful short film emotional  is the fact  that Dorothee Elfring and Michael Finbar Sheehan have never met in person. They simply put together their talent and their visions to bring this film to life, and the dancers as well have never seen or touched each other...incredible and romantic proof that art creates contact even where contact does not exist.