NEWS RELEASE
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
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University of Guelph student Dylan Sher is launching his documentary film, Before the Plate which explores themes of food, agriculture and society, on Aug. 5 in Toronto.
Fittingly, the film’s premiere is timed in conjunction with Food Day Canada — an annual celebration of Canadian ingredients, recipes and food production.
Before the Plate follows food staples of the Canadian diet from the farm to the harvest and processing operations to the final product prepared in one of Toronto’s most prestigious restaurants with the aim of helping urban consumers understand how their food arrives on their plate.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about agriculture held by people who have never been on a farm,” said Sher, a fourth year student in U of G’s Food and Agriculture Business program. “Before The Plate follows young farmers and industry experts in order to show the general population what a modern Canadian farm operation looks like and answer the most pressing questions consumers have about their food. I hope people come away with a broader understanding of how our food comes to be.”
Sher, who grew up in Toronto, said he was always interested in agriculture, but had an urban understanding of what it meant to farm.
The idea to create a film documenting the spaces where Canadian food is produced was sparked when he began spending time working on farms while he was studying at U of G.
To make the feature-length documentary, he began raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign in 2016 and soon after enlisted the help of director, Sagi Kahane-Rapport.
Sher said almost everyone in the film has a connection to U of G and many of the farmers featured – from meat producers to potato farmers – are graduates of the University.
U of G President Franco Vaccarino will be at the film’s sold-out launch at Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre where he’ll deliver a speech about the significance of this film.
Sher and Kahane-Rapport have already submitted their film to the Toronto International Film Festival but said that for them the greatest measure of success will be sharing their message as broadly as possible.
“This is really a pride piece,” said Sher. “Canadians have a lot to be proud of in terms of how our food is produced. And, today with the whole ‘buy Canadian’ theme, the message is more important than ever.”
The push to buy Canadian is also the focus of this year’s Food Day Canada on Aug. 4.
The nation-wide food celebration was founded by U of G Food Laureate Anita Stewart in 2003 when our borders were closed to Canadian beef. In response, Stewart organized the World’s Longest Barbecue with Canadians grilling Canadian beef to show their support.
Over the years, numerous Food Day Canada events have been held and many renowned Canadian chefs have participated. This year’s focus is on culinary sovereignty and Stewart’s motto is to cook like a Canadian, eat like a Canadian and shop like a Canadian.
“Together we’re putting Canada, not only ‘On the Plate’, but on the menu for all Canadians,” said Stewart, founder and president of Food Day Canada.
To be placed on the waitlist for tickets to the premiere contact the filmmakers directly through their website.
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