2025 Film Selection

David Usui - UNITED STATES | 86 mins

Been Here Stay Here is a quiet, immersive portrait of a place long used as a symbol, but rarely heard on its own terms. Set on Tangier Island—a centuries-old evangelical fishing community in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay—the film eschews the tropes of conventional climate storytelling. There are no experts, voiceovers, or statistics. Been Here Stay Here invites audiences to sit with the lived reality of a community facing the slow erosion of its land, not through spectacle or alarm, but through faith, memory, and daily life.

Sarah Justine Kerruish, Matt Maude - UNITED STATES | 75 mins

A compelling documentary that follows Bay Area chef Meg Ray’s quest to revive a struggling cafe on a remote Swedish island.

In these uncertain times, Sweet Störy is a reminder of what is possible when just a few people set out to make their corner of the world a better place. It is an epic adventure about an American baker and a small group of islanders who attempt to save a tiny cafe in the remote Swedish archipelago and preserve a unique way of life for future generations.

Pedro Peira - SPAIN | 83 min

Jason Goldman - UNITED STATES | 72 mins

After a spiritual awakening, a former Texas cattle rancher leaves the cruel cycle of animal agriculture and transforms her husband’s beef operation into a sanctuary.

Rowdy Girl showcases the inspiring work of Renee King-Sonnen, who has lived on both sides of the fence, and proves that there is a common ground between farmers and vegans: a shared mission of compassion and sustainability.

Jason Goldman’s verit√© style, lovingly captures the dynamic connection between Renee, her husband Tommy and the hooved and feathered friends who inhabit Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.

Mandy Qua, Marissa Mejia - PHILIPPINES | 95 mins

This documentary film shares the stories of seed savers from across the three regions of the Philippines‚ ÄîLuzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Despite encountering various systemic barriers, these farmers persist in their seed-saving efforts in the hopes of preserving indigenous culture, native biodiversity, and agricultural heritage.

Ewen Chardronnet, Maya Minder - FRANCE | 60 mins

What connects a weakened ecosystem with a global food culture – and what lessons does the past hold for the future?

Umi No Oya – Mother of the Sea tells the story of a discovery that revolutionized Japanese nori aquaculture and partially led to the rise of a global sushi culture. With subtle landscape imagery and a keen sense of Japanese cultural history, the film explores international scientific connections and the resilience of people in a world shaped by upheavals and climate change. It weaves artistic and personal biographies into a reflection on the balance between progress and sustainable action. How can science, art, and culture address the challenges of the future?

Curmiah Lisette, Keithlin Caroo-Afrifa - SAINT LUCIA | 49 mins

Roots of Resilience: Stories of Caribbean Women in Agriculture is a moving portrait of St. Lucia’s agricultural journey, celebrating the strength of its women and the enduring spirit of a community deeply connected to its land through the lens of the local non-profit, Helen’s Daughters.

Katy Jenkyns - UNITED STATES | 48 mins

Bafta-winner Mia McKenna-Bruce voices an eco-investigator who is traumatised by her work accessing factory farms and documenting animal abuses undercover. Terrified of a future of climate apocalypse, she embarks on a journey into the food systems that shape our planet, to look for hope.

Alan Fàbregas, Ramon Pardina - SPAIN | 60 mins

"Blank Plate: Creating the Best Restaurant in the World" takes us inside the journey of Disfrutar as it rises to be crowned the best restaurant in the world at a spectacular gala in Las Vegas. Alongside this achievement, the documentary delves into the personal stories of its three chefs—Eduard Xatruch, Mateu Casañas, and Oriol Castro—tracing their demanding years at El Bulli to the creation of their own restaurant._x000D_

The film reveals their passion for gastronomy, their relentless pursuit of excellence, and their constant drive for culinary innovation. Through their own voices, we witness the meticulous process of crafting new dishes, the pressure of staying at the forefront of the industry, and the high-intensity reality of running a fine-dining restaurant._x000D_

Beyond the kitchen, " "Blank Plate: Creating the Best Restaurant in the World" " also explores the human side of gastronomy—the personal sacrifices, the deep connection to their roots, and the profound impact of success on their lives. It is an immersion into cuisine as art, science, territory, and emotion, where each dish is a blank canvas waiting to be painted with flavors and creativity.

Giulia Innocenzi, Pablo D'Ambrosi - ITALY | 90 mins

Food for Profit is the first feature documentary that exposes the links between the meat industry, lobbying and the corridors of power. It denounces how Europe is transferring hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ money into the hands of intensive farms, which mistreat animals, pollute the environment, and pose a potential danger for future pandemics.

With a cinematic approach for an investigative documentary, Giulia and Pablo take us on an enlightening but shocking journey across Europe, where they confront farmers, corporations and politicians. Their team of investigators infiltrated farms in many European countries, exposing the truth behind the perceived excellence of European dairy and meat. In parallel, a fake agrifood lobbyist has infiltrated the high spheres of power at the European Parliament, secretly recording MEPs and gaining shocking information.

Food for Profit not only discloses the horror of intensive farms and the political corruption behind it, but with a pool of international experts, it tackles and analyses the many problems related to factory farming: from water pollution to exploitation of migrants and from biodiversity loss to antibiotic resistance.

The film’s outcry is loud and clear: we must stop this corrupt system now if we want to save the planet. And ourselves, too.

Phil Comeau - CANADA | 52 mins

Marilyn fishes lobster with her father and dreams of becoming a captain herself. She meets other determined women captains who encourage her. But, when her husband suddenly dies in an accident, she becomes a single mother and questions her dream.

Blake McWilliam - CANADA | 90 mins

A bootstrapping seaweed nerd takes on climate change and global food insecurity armed with nothing but determination when she sets-up her own kelp farm.

Vladimir Leon - FRANCE | 70 min

On an isolated farm in the middle of the French Alps, farmer/electronic engineer Jean-Philippe Valla develops energy and food self-sufficiency techniques. Choreographer Julie Desprairies joins him to rehearse with dancers and musicians in this extraordinary venue. Agricultural and dance gestures merge while agricultural work and choreographic work jointly seek a fairer way of inhabiting the world.

Colin Ramsay - UNITED KINGDOM | 96 min

The inspiring story of young British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, our health and provide for local communities.

Sonia Ziadi Trives, Victor García Garrido - SPAIN | 78 min

Through his Michelin-starred restaurant Montia, chef Daniel Ochoa continues to shape a project that plays a key part in bridging the gap between the rural and the urban worlds. Loyal to his ideology, every decision - from ingredients and tableware to the team or wine selection - reflects a deep engagement with nature and locally produced food.

Coming Full Circle is an intimate portrait of a moment of maturity, where coherence, calm, and authenticity take centre stage. Far from the image of the celebrity chef, Ochoa prefers to be seen simply as a cook - someone who uses his craft not just to prepare food, but to regenerate his environment, nurture human relationships, and restore a sense of wholeness. In doing so, he quite literally closes the circle - between land and table, people and purpose.

Gwladys Déprez, Chloé Jacquemoud - FRANCE | 72 min

Without electricity and chemistry, how can we rediscover the ancestral knowledge of preserving this basic food that is wheat? A small team, archaeologists, a farmer, biologists and a baker set out in search of a vanished agricultural technique: the storage of cereals in underground silos. To update this essential know-how from the past, researchers are inventing an atypical experiment. By reconstructing this process step by step, they sketch the life of yesterday's rural communities and carry the hope of extracting knowledge useful to today's farmers.

Nishtha Jain - INDIA | 105 min

Jordan Osmond - AUSTRALIA | 66 min

What happens when the values of the culture you’ve always known no longer align with how you see the world? The New Peasants provides an intimate look into the life of Meg, Patrick, and their sons Zephyr and Woody. A family who, for 20 years, have been transitioning away from modern industrial culture toward a radically simple, sustainable, and beautiful way of life.

Doug Hawes-Davis - UNITED STATES | 97 min

THE LITTLE THINGS THAT RUN THE WORLD introduces viewers to a diverse group of scientists, nature lovers, gardeners, farmers, and general bug enthusiasts in exploring the importance of flying insects amid rapid declines in their numbers. This most numerous group of animals on the planet by far - three quarters of all species - have also been called the “glue of life” on Earth. They literally hold ecosystems together. Insects were the first animals to evolve flight nearly 440 million years ago, and they survived all five of the known mass extinctions since then. But, there is evidence that the pace of decline among insects in parts of the world today is fast approaching the levels of previous catastrophes. What this means for the rest of life on Earth, including humans, is the focus of THE LITTLE THINGS THAT RUN THE WORLD. The film documents the mysteries of the declines along side creative and heroic human efforts to change the course of evolutionary history. What is causing this extinction crisis? What can be done to reverse the trend? THE LITTLE THINGS THAT RUN THE WORLD attempts to find answers to those questions and more.

Alexandros Merkouris - GREECE | 52 min

The Perfect Meal travels from Greece and Cyprus, to France, Spain, the UK and the USA, to reveal the science of the Mediterranean Diet through the work of leading scientists including Cecilia Samieri (Bordeaux-France), Miguel Martínez-González (Navarra-Spain), Nikolaos Scarmeas (Athens-Greece) and Walter Willett(USA).

These central characters of the film have dedicated their lives to discovering how certain ingredients and combinations of plant based foods affect our health: how and why they protect us from obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancers and brain-ageing, but also how this diet can help mitigate the effects of climate change.

The documentary also observes how inspirational chefs work with scientists to spread the popularity of this plant based diet to both our daily meals and haute cuisine.

Emily Packer - UNITED STATES | 81 min

This impressionist hybrid documentary traces the oyster through its many life cycles in New York, once the world’s oyster capital. Now their specter haunts the city through queer characters embodying ancient myth, discovering the overlooked history and biology of the bivalve that built the city. As environmentalists restore them to the harbor, Holding Back The Tide looks to the oyster as a queer icon, entangled with nature, with much to teach about our continued survival.

Barry Avrich | 82 min

Very few people in the world can completely change their own destiny. And even fewer can overcome extreme adversity to share their incomparable talent and artistry at the highest level. Born Hungry is the rags-to-riches story of Sash Simpson, who went from homeless street kid to dazzling celebrity chef. With a narrative strikingly similar to Academy Award-nominated film "Lion" 2017) and the Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" (2016) this is a riveting true story with a classic Hollywood ending that uses an investigative approach with an Anthony Bourdain flair against a backdrop of India's richest tapestry.

Shiva Sanjari | 84 min

A Pot Full of Dreams is a warm and visually powerful documentary about food as a tool for connection, compassion — and hope. We follow future gastronome Rozbeh Javid on a unique journey through Iran, where different religious communities cook to bring people together and ease loneliness.

From the Zoroastrians’ sacred stew in Yazd to the Jewish matzah in Tehran, the Christian Hariseh in Isfahan, and the Shia Muslims’ Ash-e Bushehri in the port city of Bushehr — everywhere, food takes on a deeper meaning. It becomes an act of love, a beating heart at the center of community, and a bridge across lines of faith and belonging.

At the core is the idea that charity is a fruit — both spiritual and tangible. A fruit that grows from tradition and belief, but ripens in the meeting between people. The series reminds us of something universal: that no one should have to eat alone, and that food — when shared — can carry seeds of hope in a divided world.

Jordi Torra - SPAIN | 84 min

Lluc Crusellas faces the greatest challenge of his career: achieving the prestigious title of World Chocolate Master and thus entering the "Olympus" of the world's greatest pastry chefs. In his pursuit of excellence, he embarks on intense physical and mental preparation for the competition, surrounding himself with a great multidisciplinary team. During this process, he not only perfects his artistic and creative skills but also cultivates a resilient and focused mindset, ready to face the rigors of the competition. Along the way, he leaves his younger self behind to mature as a person and as a professional. His strength and character will support him and those around him along the way; in the most delicate moments, he will allow those closest to him to care for him.

At the same time, the great masters closely monitor his preparation, analyzing both his skills to access "their exclusive kingdom" and the current state and trends in the pastry world. Thus, while Lluc's figure becomes a central and focal point for understanding the current and future panorama of haute patisserie, the images generated during the preparation for the competition narrate his experience from the most emotional and vibrant side.

Sol Kohli - INDIA | 72 min

Set in India, across scenic visuals and a unique animated world... The film follows the real-life journey of a middle-aged, debaucherous man from the other end of the fitness spectrum, as he uncovers new information that goes against everything he grew up believing about the things he is most passionate about.

Using humour, emotion and a very relatable angle, we deep-dive into  the struggles and subsequent potential and courage within man in this crisp docu-drama.

At the crux of this film is an extreme time-based physical and mental transformation that we put a test subject through, in order to prove a  highly debated theory. Going up against generations of programming, tradition, religion and cultural beliefs, this Test subject endures an array of trials , lows and highs while being extremely vulnerable and honest to camera. In a world powered by propaganda, the film attempts to move beyond and becomes an inspiring human story of courage and triumph.

The objective of this film is to inspire people to make better choices for their health, the planet and the animals , while being very engaging and fun to watch.

Angelina Lee - UNITED STATES | 40 min

BBC journalist Alexis Rowell changed everything when he realized the Arctic would melt in his lifetime. He sold his car, stopped flying, and drastically reduced his household waste. He and his partner Blanche Lepetit founded a permaculture farm and learning center in France called La Grande Raisandière, or "The Big Raise," teaching people new ways to grow nutritious food while actively repairing the soil. Their low-impact living addresses the current environmental crisis, and promotes a more reciprocal relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world. They incorporate solar panels, EV chargers, rainwater capture, forest gardens, composting, and more. The film follows their small farm through lively workshops and autumn harvest.

ERWAN LE GAL - FRANCE | 20 min

Isabelle is a violinist-beekeeper in the Ouessant island. She protect her bees and she inspire her daughter with stories and legend about honey bees....

Michael Raabe - UNITED STATES | 63 min

Ghosts of the Pacific, a captivating and visually stunning documentary that delves into the mysterious world of the white sea bass, a prized and elusive species that has captured the imagination of spearfishermen along the Pacific coast. Through breathtaking underwater cinematography and intimate storytelling, the film explores the challenges and rewards of pursuing these “ghosts” of the deep.

Mads K. Baekkevold - CANADA | 90 min

In “The Chef & The Daruma”, visionary chef Hidekazu Tojo grapples with his life's work and reflects upon the struggle to make himself and his culinary creations palatable to a Western audience. Amidst the push and pull between his traditional Japanese heritage and his new persona in Canada, Tojo embarks on a journey of identity intertwined with the mythical presence of Daruma, a legendary monk from Japanese folklore - shaping a narrative that transcends borders, realities, and flavours.