Sunday, October 19th, 7:30pm
Muenzinger Auditorium, CU-Boulder campus
Director: Franc Aleu, Producer: Jaume Roures, Screenplay: Franc Aleu, Jo Sol
Spain, 2014, Catalan/Spanish/English/French, Color, 82 minutes
Remarks by Alex Figura, Executive Chef of Lower48
Introduction by Chef Ian Kleinman of The Inventing Room.
El Somni (The Dream) is a documentary that immerses viewers in the creation and staging of a twelve-course multi-media culinary opera in a Barcelona concert hall. It brings together the talents of the world-renowned restaurant El Cellar de Can Roca, an innovative opera and film director, musicians, poets, painters, composers, singers, and visual artists from around the world. All work together to create a dining experience that combines original art, music, video pieces, and cuisine. According to the director, Franc Aleu, their objective was to “combine all artistic disciplines in one single work in an effort to push emotion to the limit.”
The image, the art, the music, the taste and smell, are united in a cross-media work piece: an opera-dinner for twelve guests about the cyclical journey of human existence. The guests include Ferran Adria, chef and co-owner of El Bulli, Harold McGee, author specializing in the chemistry, technique and history of food and cooking, actress Freida Pintos, and leading scientists and artists. Along with conventional documentary approaches, the film incorporates experimental film, fiction and animation for a visual tour de force.