A Place at the Table

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A Place at the Table
A Place at the Table Poster.jpeg
Film's Official Poster
Directed byKristi Jacobson
Lori Silverbush
Produced byJulie Goldman
Ryan Harrington
Starring Jeff Bridges
Raj Patel
Tom Colicchio
Edited byMadeleine Gavin
Jean Tsien, A.C.E.
Andrea B. Scott
Music by The Civil Wars
T Bone Burnett
Production
company
Distributed by Magnolia Pictures
Release dates
  • January 22, 2012 (2012-01-22)(Sundance Film Festival)
  • March 1, 2013 (2013-03-01)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$231,378 [1]

A Place at the Table is a 2012 film produced by Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson, with appearances by Jeff Bridges, Raj Patel, and chef Tom Colicchio. The film, concerning hunger in the United States, was released theatrically in the United States on March 1, 2013. [2] [3]

Contents

Production background

Participant Media is the entertainment company behind the film, and it is distributed by Magnolia Pictures. The Participant/Magnolia team is also responsible for the film Food, Inc. (2008). [2] The film was originally titled Finding North but the name was later changed to A Place at the Table.

Synopsis

As of 2012, about 50 million Americans were food insecure. This was approximately 1 in 6 of the overall population, with the proportion of children facing food insecurity even higher at about 1 in 4. One in every two children receive federal food assistance. [4] [5] The film sees directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine the issue of hunger in America, largely through the stories of three people suffering from food insecurity:

Other Americans struggling with hunger are also featured, including a cop whose monthly paychecks only leaves him enough money to buy food for two weeks, forcing him to use a food bank. [5] A Place at the Table shows how hunger poses serious economic, social, and cultural implications for the United States, and that the problem can be solved once and for all, if the American public decides – as they have in the past – that making healthy food available and affordable is in everyone's best interest.

Book release

There is also a companion book titled A Place at the Table: The Crisis of 49 Million Hungry Americans and How to Solve It, edited by Peter Pringle and published by Public Affairs. The book features contributions from Jeff Bridges, Ken Cook, Marion Nestle, Bill Shore, Joel Berg, Robert Egger, Janet Poppendieck, David Beckmann, Mariana Chilton, Tom Colicchio, Jennifer Harris, Andy Fisher, Kelly Meyer and directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush. [6]

Awards

The film was nominated for Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. [2] [7]

At the 2013 IDA Documentary Awards, the film received the Pare Lorentz Award, which recognizes films for model filmmaking while focusing on the use of the natural environment, and justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems. [8]

Critical reception

The film has received positive reviews. As of October 2015, it has a 90% approval ratings from 61 professional reviews aggregated by Rotten Tomatoes. [9] The following are a few examples of critical response to the film:

See also

Related Research Articles

Hunger Sustained inability to eat sufficient food

In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In the field of hunger relief, the term hunger is used in a sense that goes beyond the common desire for food that all humans experience, also known as an appetite. The most extreme form of hunger, when malnutrition is widespread, and when people have started dying of starvation through lack of access to sufficient, nutritious food, leads to a declaration of famine.

Food security Measure of the availability and accessibility of food

Food security is the measure of the availability of food and individuals' ability to access it. According to the United Nations' Committee on World Food Security, food security is defined as meaning that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. The availability of food irrespective of class, gender or region is another one. There is evidence of food security being a concern many thousands of years ago, with central authorities in ancient China and ancient Egypt being known to release food from storage in times of famine. At the 1974 World Food Conference, the term "food security" was defined with an emphasis on supply; food security is defined as the "availability at all times of adequate, nourishing, diverse, balanced and moderate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices". Later definitions added demand and access issues to the definition. The first World Food Summit, held in 1996, stated that food security "exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life."

Tom Colicchio American celebrity chef

Thomas Patrick Colicchio is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, which includes Craft, Riverpark (NYC), Temple Court (NYC), Craftsteak, Heritage Steak and Small Batch restaurants. Colicchio is the recipient of five James Beard Foundation Awards for cooking accomplishments.

Participant (company) American film production company

Participant is a Los Angeles, California-based film production company founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Skoll, dedicated to entertainment intended to spur social change. The company finances and co-produces film and television content, as well as digital entertainment through its subsidiary SoulPancake, which the company acquired in 2016.

Frank Evers (businessman)

Francis "Frank" Anthony Evers is an Irish & American businessman, the CEO of INSTITUTE/The Story Institute, and the president of Evergreen Pictures and Girl Culture Films.

Cynthia Wade is an American television, commercial and film director, producer and cinematographer based in New York City. She has directed documentaries on social issues including Shelter Dogs in 2003 about animal welfare and Freeheld in 2007 about LGBT rights as well as television commercials and web campaigns. She has won over 40 film festival awards, won an Oscar in 2008, and was nominated for her second Oscar in 2013.

Andrew Rossi American filmmaker

Andrew Rossi is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, known for directing documentaries such as Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011) and The Andy Warhol Diaries (2022).

Epidemiology of malnutrition Overview of global nutritional deficiencies

There were 795 million undernourished people in the world in 2014, a decrease of 216 million since 1990, despite the fact that the world already produces enough food to feed everyone—7 billion people—and could feed more than that—12 billion people.

Hunger in the United States Food insecurity

Hunger in the United States of America affects millions of Americans, including some who are middle class, or who are in households where all adults are in work. The United States produces far more food than it needs for domestic consumption—hunger within the U.S. is caused by some Americans having insufficient money to buy food for themselves or their families. Additional causes of hunger and food insecurity include neighborhood deprivation and agricultural policy. Hunger is addressed by a mix of public and private food aid provision. Public interventions include changes to agricultural policy, the construction of supermarkets in underserved neighborhoods, investment in transportation infrastructure, and the development of community gardens. Private aid is provided by food pantries, soup kitchens, food banks, and food rescue organizations.

Danielle Nierenberg

Danielle J. Nierenberg is an American activist, author and journalist.

2013 Sundance Film Festival Film festival held from January 17, 2013 until January 27, 2013

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah.

<i>The Hunger Games</i> (film series) Series of films based on the novel series

The Hunger Games film series is composed of science fiction dystopian adventure films, based on The Hunger Games trilogy of novels by the American author Suzanne Collins. The films are distributed by Lionsgate and produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik. The series feature an ensemble cast including Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, and Donald Sutherland as President Snow.

Lilly Hartley is an American documentary film producer and actress, and the founder of Candescent Films.

<i>Best of Enemies</i> (2015 film) 2015 American film

Best of Enemies is a 2015 American documentary film co-directed by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville about the televised debates between intellectuals Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. during the 1968 United States presidential election. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It was acquired by Magnolia and Participant Media.

<i>Person to Person</i> (film) 2017 American drama film by Dustin Guy Defa

Person to Person is a 2017 American drama film directed and written by Dustin Guy Defa. The film stars Michael Cera, Tavi Gevinson, and Abbi Jacobson.

God Knows Where I Am is a 2016 American documentary film directed and produced by Todd Wider and Jedd Wider and narrated by Lori Singer.

Diane Hope Weyermann was an American filmmaker who was the chief content officer of Participant Media, a film and television production company.

Lance Oppenheim American film director

Lance Oppenheim is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and producer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His work blends cinematic genres to explore the lives of people who create homes in unconventional spaces and places. His debut feature Some Kind of Heaven (2020) was an Official Selection at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

2021 Sundance Film Festival Film festival

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 28 to February 3, 2021. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 15, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, the festival combined in-person screenings at the Ray Theatre in Park City, with screenings held online as well as on screens and drive-ins in 24 states and territories across the United States.

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20 to 30, 2022. Due to COVID-19 pandemic protocol it was going to be a hybrid festival, but on January 5, 2022 it was announced that the in-person components would be scrapped in favor of a virtual festival due to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 9, 2021.

References

  1. "A Place at the Table". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "A Place at the Table". IMDb.com. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2020-02-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. William A Dando, ed. (2012). "Food Assistance Landscapes in the United States by Andrew Walters". Food and Famine in the 21st Century. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   978-1598847307.
  5. 1 2 Patrick Butler (2013-05-08). "Food poverty: The American Way". The Guardian . Retrieved 2013-06-09.
  6. ""A Place at the Table" companion book". Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  7. "A Place At the Table". Indiewire.com. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  8. "2013 IDA Documentary Awards Winners". International Documentary Association. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  9. "A Place at the Table". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  10. "Sundance 2012: 'Finding North' looks at hunger in America". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  11. "Sundance London: Finding North, The O2". Standard.co.uk. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  12. Klymkiw, Greg (19 April 2012). "The Film Corner with Greg Klymkiw: FINDING NORTH - Review By Greg Klymkiw - Toronto Hot Docs Film Festival 2012 - Must-See #4". Klymkiwfilmcorner.blogspot.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  13. Anderson, John (24 January 2012). "Finding North". Variety.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.