Food and Country

Author, restaurant critic, and former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl is one of the godmothers of our present foodie culture. More than just a lover of fine dining, Reichl is a fervent advocate for sustainability and better nutrition. So in winter 2020, with COVID-19 forcing restaurants to shutter and disrupting the agricultural industry, Reichl began reaching out to chefs and farmers to ask how their lives had been impacted, and how they planned to move forward. Speaking to a broad swath of food-industry insiders—from a Kansas cattle rancher and New England sea-kelp harvester to gourmet chefs and restaurant workers—Reichl uncovers systemic problems that long predated the pandemic. Food and Country shines a spotlight on several of these individuals, highlighting not only their struggles to make ends meet in an industry that’s grown increasingly untenable, but also their ingenuity and determination to find lasting solutions to build a more equitable, environmentally sustainable future. Suffused with Reichl’s curiosity and generosity of spirit, Food and Country is an urgent reminder to think more deeply about the people who produce the food on our plates and the ways that food production impacts our lives and our planet.

Directed by Laura Gabbert

2023 | USA | English language | DCP