Meet the Winners of the Second Annual World Food Forum Film Festival

This year, we received hundreds of fantastic films made by directors under the age of 40 from countries around the world. Our team of independent and diverse judges had the difficult job to narrow it all down to just 6 finalists who showed an impressive awareness to agrifood systems and the 2022 theme of the World Food Forum: “Healthy Diets Healthy Planet”. We’re inspired by their passion to improve our food systems using film as a catalyst for good.

This year’s categories are:

The winner for Best Fiction Movie is Ali Amirsayyafi for his film The Aghast. 21-year-old Amirsayyafi, Iranian, started his film career writing movie reviews for Iraninan magazines and newspapers, then went on to make teasers for television. He then started creating short films and wrote “The Aghast” with Alireza Darvish before directing it. The film is made by students and addresses the issue of food waste where a man throws away his leftovers and is faced with the consequences.

The winner for Best Focus on Science is Tuna Tales | In Balance With Nature directed by Pepe Brix and Rui Pedro Lamy. Brix grew up in Azores and spent part of his life traveling for photojournalism, where he spent time aboard the Navio Bacalhoeiro Joana Princesa in Newfoundland to photograph the life of a cod-fisherman for National Geographic. Since then he has focused on the connection between Man and Sea exploring themes of exploitation and implementation of new measures for progressive action. Lamy is a Portuguese director and he enjoys documenting his research on popular cults and traditions manifested through audiovisual language for the benefit of future generations. He is passionate about building connections between society, culture, and heritage through audiovisual language to capture the beauty of life. The film is based on the subject of food waste and tells the story of the importance of and obstacles faced by small-scale tuna fishing communities around the world who fish one tuna at a time. They present alternative sustainable fishing methods as opposed to industrial overfishing.

The award for Best Documentary goes to Eskwad directed by Keziah Jean. She has worked as a journalist, musician, and visual communication specialist for a humanitarian organization founded by Sean Penn. In 2019 she became visual program manager to contribute to the development of women’s leadership in Haiti and was later commissioned to create a documentary focused on Haitian solidarity, her first independent film. The film captures Haitians working together through the voices of a local organization supporting farmers and their resilience in agriculture after the horrific earthquake of 2021.

The Young Filmmaker Award goes to Six Feet Under directed by Ruby Browne. 21-year-old Browne is from the UK with a recent graduate degree from the University of Westminster in Film. This is the first film she has directed, which is inspired by her passion for fighting climate change and how film can envelop the viewer in an unfamiliar but necessary story. The film shares a glimpse into the world of regenerative agriculture to fight against Britain’s ever-increasing soil death crisis.

The winner for Best Focus on Healthy Diets, Healthy Planet is Backyard Food directed by Luisa Macedo. Macedo is a visual artist and cook from Brazil who was awarded research grants by CAPES and FAPERJ. She has participated in the Biennale Arts Actuels, created videos for the Convida Program and her work has been exhibited in Brazil, Argentina, France, and China. BACKYARD FOOD is her debut and the product of her extensive research on urban backyards and cooks. The film is centered around the affectionate relationships between the kitchen, maintained by three self-sufficient women in their urban backyards utilizing sustainable methods of farming.

The Best Cinematography award goes to Forest Flavors directed by Rachel Priebe. Priebe a 23 year old student at the University of Southern California who enjoys making short documentaries about nature and the power of belief systems. Her film displays a glimpse into the life of Wild Food Alchemist Pascal Baudar and his mission to change the way we look at invasive plants. The film shows the viewer an example of sustainable eating habits showcased through a walk in nature.

If you’re attending the World Food Forum, be sure to watch the whole films on Thursday 20 Oct from 10:00-18:00 in the Austria Room at FAO HQ or on Airmeet.

Learn more about this year’s WFF Film Festival.