What are your earliest memories of being interested in food?
My Father was what we call in France “Un bon vivant”, which means he enjoyed life, his friends, and food. One of his best friends was also a chef, whom everybody called Le Chef.
My first memories of food come from helping Le Chef by washing the dishes in the kitchen of his restaurant. I was looking at him being in such control of his environment, whether cooking meat, grilling a fish or creating a sauce, à la minute.It was both an interesting and unorganised system.
Can you tell us a little bit about how the idea for ‘Noma: My perfect storm’ came about?
In 2007 I shot a documentary in the Noma’s kitchen, and this is when I met Rene Redzepi for the first time. While shooting I felt that this young man was doing something different, something new. I felt that I was in front of a guy who was about to shake the world of gastronomy. At that time my documentary “Looking North for a gastronomic Revolution” asked the question “Will the gastronomy revolution come from the North?” And since then Rene Redzepi has changed the world of Gastronomy by creating amazing food based on a dogma of limitation, using only the Nordic Raw ingredients coming from his region in his recipes.
That challenge impressed me and I reached out to him in 2011 to tell him about my idea of doing a 90 minute piece about what was going on in the mind of the chef behind Noma. Essentially trying to understand his creative process as well as how it all started and also getting to know a bit more about his past and up-bringing,
What do you feel you learnt from the experience offilming Rene Redzepi and the team at Noma for such a lengthy period of time?
I have always tried to respect the teams’ intimacy in the kitchen because of my knowledge of this world. This means I rarely get ‘in their faces’ with the camera, working rather from a distance so as not to disturb or disrupt their workflow. Most of the guys have been really welcoming and participative. I wanted to make this film as a quiet observer from the inside and in almost 33 months of shooting I have been able to do so, understanding and portraying the ups and down of the chef and his team, the joyful and less joyful moments.
I was eager to show the world how I saw him, not only as a person and a chef on his own or with his family, but also with his team, all of that through my lens.
By shooting René and his team over the period of 33 months I learnt that René always seems to be constantly inspired to create something new and when in a storm he finds resources to turn challenges into opportunities.
Was thereanything that surprisedyou during your research?
During my research for the documentary, I was constantly surprised by how René Redzepi was portrayed the same way over and over again in the media. I also realised how timing has played such an important role in René’s amazing journey to the top.
Why do you feel it’s necessary to for the material been taken to Indieogo for support?
I think crowdfunding can offer a way to the future of Film financing and I liked the idea or involving our potential audience into the process of making this film, and in a sense have them being part of the production team.Due to its huge audience and global reach, I believe Indiegogo is the best platform to help us engage with the food and doc. film audience. Our goal is to raise50 000 Us Dollars to complete the post production.
As a trained chef yourself, can you describe how you see your own culinary style and how it has evolved over the years…
I have a degree in French Cuisine Classic. However, my culinary style changed dramatically when I met a Danish chef called Finn Hurtigkarl who inspired me with his intuitive cooking style. He taught me to follow my instinct and let myself be inspired by the moment, instead of following a specific recipe. I now use this same approach in my film making.
What kind of experience do you want to give viewers watching the documentary?
Overall I want the audience to experience a story that evokes multiple layers of emotions and for them to have a cinematic experience with stunning images.For the viewers who already know about René and Noma I would like them to discover new layers in his story. For those who don’t know him and his restaurant I would like them to learn who René is and what Noma stands for.
What would you say has been the most memorable moment in your career so far?
Seeing Jerry Makawest, the main protagonist of my awarded short Documentary called “Man of the soil”, crying when he saw himself on the screen of my computer in his humble wooden shack.
What’s next for you?
I have a few projects in the pipeline for which I am looking for financing partners.
The People’s Cup is a feature documentary about the upcoming Rugby World Cup andLife is hereis a 90 minutes film about a small selection of people around the globe who live what people in the so-called ‘developed world’ would call ‘simple lives’, but they are lives with meaning, inextricably interconnected with nature, and which very fleetingly interact with the outside world. It is a celebration of people for whom the trappings and complexities of the modern world are not only beyond reach, they are inconsequential. Through 8 briefly opened windows we observe lives that the modern world has left behind, yet in a bizarre twist of fate, now seeks to rediscover.
What restaurant is currently at the top of your list to dine at?
The Beach hut in Caletta Buena; Cuba, serving a wood oven cooked barracuda with limes and papaw.
Find out more information about how to support‘Noma my perfect storm’ here |www.indiegogo.com