2009 | Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic | Colour | 88′ | DCP
Director: Peter Kerekes
Cinematographer: Martin Kollár
In Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, German and Russian with Chinese and English subtitles
2009 Special Jury Award, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
2009 Best Documentary, Vienna Internation Film Festival
Post-screening talk in Cantonese
Speaker: Wong Siu-pong | Host: Ernest Chan
Ten recipes spanning six wars and military crackdowns, featuring dishes from Russian Shashlik to French Coq au Vin, even arsenic bread as retribution against the Nazis. From the WWII to the Yugoslav Wars and the Chechen conflicts, examining history through cuisine while witnessing the history through food. In times of turmoil, sustenance becomes paramount; food is the people’s heaven. Soldiers must not only fight but also eat. The aggressors eat, and so do those who are defending their homeland. Peter Kerekes, director of Wishing on a Star, blends documentary with re-enactment, employing a refreshingly humorous approach to revisit war through the chefs’ perspectives. By inviting them to recreate wartime dishes, he unearths the forgotten memories of ordinary people lost within grand historical moments. Tito’s personal nutritionist shares the menus served during the negotiations between the Yugoslav ethnic leaders, as if foreshadowing the nation’s fragmentation and strife.
Director: Peter Kerekes
Cinematographer: Martin Kollár
In Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, German and Russian with Chinese and English subtitles
2009 Special Jury Award, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
2009 Best Documentary, Vienna Internation Film Festival
Post-screening talk in Cantonese
Speaker: Wong Siu-pong | Host: Ernest Chan
Ten recipes spanning six wars and military crackdowns, featuring dishes from Russian Shashlik to French Coq au Vin, even arsenic bread as retribution against the Nazis. From the WWII to the Yugoslav Wars and the Chechen conflicts, examining history through cuisine while witnessing the history through food. In times of turmoil, sustenance becomes paramount; food is the people’s heaven. Soldiers must not only fight but also eat. The aggressors eat, and so do those who are defending their homeland. Peter Kerekes, director of Wishing on a Star, blends documentary with re-enactment, employing a refreshingly humorous approach to revisit war through the chefs’ perspectives. By inviting them to recreate wartime dishes, he unearths the forgotten memories of ordinary people lost within grand historical moments. Tito’s personal nutritionist shares the menus served during the negotiations between the Yugoslav ethnic leaders, as if foreshadowing the nation’s fragmentation and strife.