Menu

Starters

The Research

The film Eating Cultures was produced by Holly Giesman as part of a practice-based PhD thesis in documentary film at the University of Roehampton in London. The broader research project—entitled Encounters in authenticity: documentary film and the “authentic” national restaurant—consists of the film (the practice component) and a written component. Although the film was produced […]

Main Course

Film Synopsis

Eating Cultures is a documentary journey through three foreign national restaurants in London (Eritrean, Pakistani and Argentinian). Restaurant staff and customers share their experiences of working and eating in the restaurants as the filmmaker examines how “authentic” is understood and how culinary worlds are reconstructed and adapted for a multicultural London audience. Both the restaurant staff […]

Film Clips

Trailer   Cultural translation   The Eritrean meal   Food authenticity and national identity   Into the kitchen   The parrilla (grill) in action   The filming of the filming and Argentinian meat

Film Credits

A film by: Holly Giesman Supported by: University of Roehampton PhD project supervisors: Michael Chanan Garry Marvin Enrica Colusso Featuring: Mosob restaurant Mirch Masala restaurant Buen Ayre restaurant Film advisors and collaborators: Seble Ephrem Guemesh Isaak Rashid Hussain Saba Imtiaz Mariangeles Toscanelli With additional support from: Eritrean Relief Association (UK) Special thanks to: Daniel Abbay […]

Screenings

Early versions and segments of the in-progress Eating Cultures film were screened at the ¡Documentary Now! conference on June 20th, 2012 at UCL in London, at the Media Communication & Cultural Studies Association conference “Spaces and Places of Culture” on January 9th and 10th, 2013 at the University of Ulster and the Nerve Centre in […]

To Finish

Extra Features

An Eritrean Maadi This short film is about the traditional meal as prepared and presented by people living in Asmara, Eritrea. It was produced in Asmara by members and associates of the Eritrean Relief Association (UK). Seble Ephrem (ERA-UK Director)—who was a collaborator and advisor for Eating Cultures—produced the film in 2012 as a contribution to this […]