Chop, Chop, Chop

Meat-based or vegetarian, with or without beans, potatoes in or out, tomato sauce or real tomatoes added, dried mushrooms or smoked pears, or maybe just mom's borsch? Which variant should be considered "the real thing"? The battles have been lasting for years. That is why Yevhen Klopotenko, a well-known chef, sets out on a journey across Ukraine to uncover the most fascinating borsch recipes and to find the secret ingredients which make this dish unique.

A documentary that exposes the shocking truths behind industrial food production and food wastage, focusing on fishing, livestock and crop farming. A must-see for anyone interested in the true cost of the food on their plate.

In Thailand, a hymn to rice need not always be sung. A dance, or spectacular homemade fireworks can say the same thing. As can a film, as is convincingly demonstrated by this lyrical, beautifully filmed homage to this essential staple food.

A particular reading of the hard years of famine, repression and censorship after the massacre of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), through popular culture: songs, newspapers and magazines, movies and newsreels.

Documentary series which uses film and eyewitness accounts from both sides of the conflict that divided Spain in the years leading up to World War Two, also placing it in its international context.

Constitutionally precluded from claiming any right to self-determination, the Catalans stick to their guns. The separatist movement is gaining ground in Catalonia. Notwithstanding the Spanish Constitution (which states that Spain is indivisible, making any referendum thereby unconstitutional), 2.3 million people voted in the November 2014 de facto referendum. The results speak for themselves: 81% of Catalans are in favour of independence. Seizing this historic moment, filmmaker Alexandre Chartrand gives a voice to the civil society figures who have been propelled to centre stage in national politics.

Even in the push and pull era which is full of flour and sugar, rice firmly protects the table of the rice bowl nation! There are farmers who grow the rice in different ways. Nam Ho-hyeon, a young farmer who continues his father's family business, challenges farming with agricultural drones that spray coated rice seeds in large quantities, but new technologies that seemed to bring a rosy future leave only endless homework in a series of trials and errors. Lee Geun, an urban farmer who started farming on weekends and fell in love with farming, lives a life of small farmers who touch and cultivate them with their hands rather than machines, and studies and protects the world of traditional native rice that has disappeared in history. Our rice, which grows with sincerity, is filled with happiness, and conveys the power of life presented by nature for a long time! The moving journey begins now!

The spotlight's on Parchís, a record company-created Spanish boy/girl band that had unprecedented success with Top 10 songs and hit films in the '80s.

This documentary features the story of Jules Paivio, the last living Canadian volunteer of the infamous Mackenzie-Papineau Battallion of the “International Brigades”. When Jules left from his home near Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario, his father, a famous Finnish poet, wrote a lasting lament: “To My Son In Spain”. In 1936-37, 1700 Canadians volunteered to fight with the Spanish people against a fascist coup d’etat led by elements of the Spanish Army. Backed by Musselini and Hitler, the fascists were bent on overthrowing Spain’s democratically elected socialist government and replacing it with military and church rule. It could be argued this conflict marked the true beginning of what would become World War II.

Humor shapes the way Spaniards interact on Twitter: all sorts of topics can be used to make a joke and many anonymous commentators can become celebrities and compete with professional comedians. But sometimes certain jokes that defy political correctness have a high price for those who dare to make them, jokes that can freeze the smiles of thousands of people whose prejudices can put an end to some very successful artistic careers.

A look at the different masculinities portrayed in Spanish cinema through time. (A sequel to “Barefoot in the Kitchen,” 2013.)

A film about the importance of heirloom seeds to the agriculture of the world, focusing on seed keepers and activists from around the world.

The Great Lakes and connecting waterways have remained the center of traditional and contemporary economies for centuries. Meet the Ojibwe and a tribe that was relocated to this region—the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin who care for these lands. Natural resources are the Tribes’ main economy, including the famous Red Lake walleye and wild rice lakes.

A short documentary about the Ojibwe Native Americans of Northern Minnesota and the wild rice (Manoomin) they consider a sacred gift from the Creator. The film tells the Creation and Migration stories that are central to the tribe's oral history and belief system while showing the traditional process of hand-harvesting and parching the wild rice. Biotech companies are currently researching ways to genetically modify the rice and the community is fighting to keep it wild.

Part food doc, part comedy special, Gutbuster follows unhealthy stand-up comedian Dave Stone on a cross-country tour after a sobering health diagnosis pushes him toward a major lifestyle change. He talks to farmers, doctors and academics by day, compiling his own idiot's guide to the modern American meal, then makes funny about his experiences onstage by night.

An epic journey through Don Quixote's troubled mind, from which five paths to the unknown are opened: to reason, to freedom, to love, to friendship, to adventure; although only three destinations await at the end of an imaginary and audacious existence: the narrative of the adventurous life of Cervantes; the survival of a legendary novel in these heathen times, when the one-armed gentleman is nothing but dust and bones; the memory of the living, writers and scholars, where both the tormented captive and the insane hero, are immortals beings and will be forever.

Clarissa Dickson Wright tracks down Britain's oldest known cookbook, The Forme of Cury. This 700-year-old scroll was written during the reign of King Richard II from recipes created by the king's master chefs. How did this ancient manuscript influence the way people eat today? On her culinary journey through medieval history she reawakens recipes that have lain dormant for centuries and discovers dishes that are still prepared now.

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time. (Silent short, voiced in 1937 and 1996.)

In Spanish, ladrillo means bricks. It used to mean boom, construction, production, speculation. Today, ladrillo means crisis: disused clay pits, factories that are closed half of the year, ghost-towns, subprime mortgagers facing eviction. Bricks shows how the life of a simple commodity can be the mirror of a global crisis, and tells the story of people who come up with individual and collective strategies to overcome a seemingly desperate situation.

Going into my interview with Laurel Greenfield, I thought the majority of our conversation would be about her inspiration for painting food and why she chose to pursue painting as a career. We spoke about that but ended up having a much bigger conversation about pursuing a creative career. We talked a lot about finding the balance between having a business plan and taking a leap of faith into the unknown, something anyone pursuing a creative field on their own can relate to.