film / Kitchen Stories
All filmsFoodFilmFest: THE PICKERS
Elke Sasse
Germany/Greece – 2024 – DCP – 80′
In English, Bambara, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Nepali, Portugeese, Urdu, with Dutch subtitles
The film starts at 19:00
A film as part of Food Film Fest about intensive fruit and vegetable farming, injustice, and migrant labour. After-talk with Kitchen Stories & De Warme Meente, with snacks and drinks.
The proceeds of tonight will go to Kitchen Stories and De Warme Meente.
Where do the cheap vegetables and fruits we buy year-round really come from? The Pickers sheds light on a tough reality: our food often comes with the bitter taste of exploitation. This journey through several European farming regions shows how migrants are harvesting our produce under precarious—and sometimes illegal—conditions. Yet, a solution is possible: a small orange grove in southern Italy proves that fair practices can work.
Kitchen Stories
At Kitchen Stories, the NW kitchen is central—a shared space connected to everything happening in the building and the surrounding community, bringing together numerous artists, volunteers, and organizations from in and around Aalst.
The open kitchen unites people in rotating kitchen teams, with regulars like artist and baker Annelien Vermeir, DiversPlus & World Kitchen Divas, Las Latinas, Mama Bolingo, Mammy Sylvette, ProVeg, Smuljungle, and Refu-Interim. We use only vegetarian ingredients, sourced seasonally and locally through the organic farm De Loods and Oxfam Wereldwinkel. And now, we’re also harvesting and gardening with the incredible team from De Warme Meente! We’re thrilled to welcome them to our kitchen.
Kitchen Stories is also a space for reflection on what goes into a shared meal: the origin of ingredients, the stories behind recipes, traditions of communal eating, the rituals of cooking, and the joy of sharing food. We also explore our relationship to the land, the harvest, biodiversity, and the political dimensions of food production—from animal rights to the impact of conflicts on local ecosystems.
De Warme Meente
De Warme Meente is a small-scale, local permaculture food collective dedicated to cultivating diverse, delicious produce. In a former rose greenhouse, we are building a Mediterranean/subtropical food forest, growing fruits and vegetables that are just a bit too tender for outdoor growing here—for now, but perhaps not in another decade. All year long, we nurture a diverse selection of vegetables, fruits, and herbs, with unique specialties always on the menu.
In summer, we enjoy a bounty of fresh produce, plus a refreshing dip in our swimming pond. With ice cream or a cold beer by the bar, it’s the perfect season. In winter, whenever the sun is out, the greenhouse stays cozy enough for fresh greens to grow—even in the coldest months.
We share our harvest among all members, and everyone is welcome to join.
Organised by NW, Kitchen Stories, De Warme Meente, Avansa Vlaamse Ardennen Dender, and Voedsel Anders Vlaanderen.
07.12.2024, 19:00