Curatorial Statement   

aluCine Latin Film+Media Arts Festival 2024

by Sinara Rozo Perdomo

Festival Director

Food is the oldest art; film is the newest.

In the delicate dance between food and film, we uncover a symphony of transformation—a journey from raw material to sensory experience. Both mediums, deeply rooted in human culture, evoke joy, pleasure, and reflection. They are consumed within fleeting moments, yet their impact resonates long after the last bite or frame. Just as a camera captures the essence of life, a chef’s hands conjure memories and meanings from simple ingredients. Indeed, the word ‘focus’ springs from the Latin *focus*, meaning ‘hearth’—the center of warmth and creation.

Cooking and filmmaking are alchemical processes, transforming reality into dreamscapes and vice versa. They transmute the tangible into the ethereal, forging connections that anchor us to our cultural roots. When we lose our connection to food, we lose a vital piece of our humanity, for cooking is as ancient as the taming of fire.

While a dish might seem transient, each carries the weight of tradition, memory, and meaning—often forgotten in the rush of modern life. Yet, food remains a powerful bridge between people, uniting them across cultures, languages, and borders in a universal experience of shared sustenance.

As economic divides widen, so does the chasm between abundance and hunger. The food industry, cloaked in the allure of convenience, often obscures its exploitative practices. Standardisation dulls our senses; the richness of flavour gives way to homogenised taste. In response, a quiet revolution brews—led by visionary chefs, passionate food activists, and everyday people rediscovering the art of home cooking.

Yet, as interest in food grows, the hands that harvest it remain invisible, exploited, and silenced. These workers, who sustain our food systems, face unimaginable hardships within our nation's borders. Their plight is a stark reminder of the disconnect between the food we consume, and the people who bring it to our tables.

"Responsible enjoyment is not a contradiction," asserts Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement. "To enjoy without awareness is to act irresponsibly; to be incapable of enjoyment is to lose one’s humanity."

The unchecked greed of the food industry jeopardizes the livelihood of farmers, workers, and consumers' health. The corporate machinations that govern our food systems are often shrouded in secrecy, perpetuating a cycle of harm that touches every corner of agriculture. The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth about what you’re eating because if you did, you might choose not to eat it.

Both filmmaking and cooking are deeply tied to the knowledge of place and to the authenticity of one’s craft. Yet industrialization threatens this authenticity, reducing diversity in both the culinary and cinematic realms. The loss of biodiversity in food production is a loss of life itself—a sacrifice made in the name of profit. This modern form of colonialism can be resisted by each of us as consumers and creators.

A sage once quipped, "You are not what you eat, but what you digest." This isn’t merely about the physical process but about absorbing the stories embedded in every meal. Food, like film, nourishes both body and soul. A filmmaker, like a chef, must understand the ingredients of their craft to create something that lingers in the hearts and minds of their audience.