NOW, FORAGER: A FILM ABOUT LOVE AND FUNGI

Jason Cortlund, Julia Halperin, US, 2012
93 min., OmdU
Spielfilm
DE Lucien und Regina verdienen sich ihren Lebensunterhalt mit dem Sammeln von Wildpilzen in den Wäldern von New Jersey und deren Verkauf an Restaurants in New York City. Der Lebensstil der Pilzsammler ist unberechenbar und finanziell instabil und stellt die Beziehung des Paares auf die Probe. Als Regina einen Job in einem gehobenen Fischrestaurant annimmt, fühlt sich Lucien verraten. Der Film bietet eine entromantisierte Sicht auf die Foodie-Bewegung, indem er die Arbeit und Schwierigkeiten bei der Zubereitung von Lebensmitteln für den Genuss und den Verzehr beleuchtet.

OmdU - Original (englisch) mit deutschen Untertiteln

EN Lucien and Regina are foragers - they gather wild mushrooms in the woodlands of New Jersey and sell them to restaurants in New York. Their lifestyle is simple, their income unstable. To improve the financial security and to follow a more fulfilling personal career path, Regina decides to take a job cooking at a high-end restaurant. Lucien disapproves and instead, he proposes to give up their apartment and live as full-time itinerant foragers. As individual desires take them down divergent paths over the course of a year, their marriage slowly comes apart.

DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT
Based on our interests and experiences, we decided to make a narrative film where the food and cooking was real — a film that honored the lessons of our grandparents, but one that could also appeal to the rapidly expanding Slow Food generation. While fungi are a key inspiration and structuring element within the film, the substance of the story is human. Now, Forager is about a relationship — one that is changing because of the individual needs of the participants. It’s a story about mature love — about the compromises and conflicts that can only come from years spent living in close quarters. We shot the film over the course of a year to capture seasonal changes in the natural world that have an impact on the couple’s life. We intended for Now, Forager to show food, work, and love in an authentic way, with honesty and passion.

OmdU - Original version (english) with german subtitles