Filmmaker Robert Bates can talk endlessly about his latest food film project, "Ingredients Hawaii — Part One," premiering Saturday at Mamiya Theatre. The eat-local food movement that’s sweeping the country has lit a fire in Bates, and he’s funneled that passion into capturing both the spirit and stories of Hawaii’s emerging food community.
The film follows in the footsteps of Bates’ inaugural food film, "Ingredients," that premiered in 2009 and chronicles the thriving food system in Portland, Ore.
"That film has screened a dozen times or so, and I love that it always creates a need for people to talk about the needs of their community. The film is part inspiration and part instigation," he said.
Bates believes "Ingredients Hawaii" continues that conversation.
"In Hawaii, food is an expression of who we are as a society and as individuals," he says. "I didn’t get that right away. It took me until I was thigh-deep in mud at Ko‘olaupoko (while working on restoring land for kalo farming) to understand what this is all about. Then I was able to represent this unique place, to show how interconnected we are with food."
| ‘INGREDIENTS HAWAII’
>> Film premiere: 7 p.m. Saturday, with reception at 5:30 p.m.; repeats 9 p.m.
>> Where: Mamiya Theatre, St. Louis School campus
>> Tickets: $45 reception and premiere; second screening, $10 advance and $12 at the door
>> Info: www.ingredientshawaii.com
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The film features chef Ed Kenney of town restaurant; chef Mark Noguchi of He‘eia Pier General Store & Deli; Sweet Home Waimanalo, an eatery that grows food on a roof; Ko‘olaupoko ahupuaa; chef Dave Caldeiro and students at Waikiki School; MA‘O Organic Farms; and Aloha Harvest.
It opens with a profile of University of Hawaii researcher Jay Maddock, an expert on the obesity epidemic in Hawaii who went through his own transformation by modifying his diet.
"The film captures the cultural touchpoint and evolution of food that is taking place now," Bates says. "Ed Kenney defines the most successful approach to the local food scene, which is maybe not eating 100 percent local. It’s engaging in this place, and he cites MA‘O. We visit the farm and tell the personal stories of four interns. The power of farming has changed lives."
Bates’ project here has its roots in the screening of "Ingredients" at the Hawaii International Film Festival in 2009.
"The support was huge. I was shocked and pleased. Gary Maunakea-Forth of MA‘O and Ed Kenney spoke so passionately about it," he recalls. "Someone suggested I do a film in Hawaii, and the state Department of Agriculture and Whole Foods got on board — and I got my arm twisted by Gary and Ed."
Bates points out that the forerunners of the food movement in Hawaii are the Hawaii Regional Cuisine chefs in the 1990s. It took decades for the eat-local mentality to expand beyond fine dining, "but those chefs knew freshness, integrity of product and quality of nutrition comes from fresh food."
The filmmaker says he was supervising producer on Roy Yamaguchi’s "Hawaii Cooks" television show, where Yamaguchi insisted they run a weekly farming segment.
"It was his acknowledgement of the local food system," Bates says.
Today, that system is more accessible than ever.
"What the film does in its humble way is to tell people to get on board and take it from there. I hope it shows people that they can engage in this system in any way they want."
