Critically-acclaimed "Food, Inc." makes Arizona Premiere Aug. 11

Sedona Film Festival presents debut screening of important and timely documentary in "Best of Fest" series

SEDONA, AZ (July 30, 2009) - “Food, Inc.” — the award-winning, critically-acclaimed film that is taking the nation by storm — debuts in Arizona on Tuesday, Aug. 11 in Sedona. The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Arizona premiere of this powerful and timely documentary as the fifth film in its seven-week “Best of Fest” series. There will be two screenings of the film at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres.

“Food, Inc.” is playing to rave audience reviews and standing-ovation screenings in festivals and special events worldwide. Critics all around the globe are labeling the film a “must-see”. The Los Angeles Times calls the film “essential viewing”, and Pete Hammond from Boxoffice Magazine says “Food, Inc.” is “excellent in every respect.”

“This is one of the most important documentaries on a global scale that we have ever featured,” said festival director Patrick Schweiss. “This is a film that has the potential to significantly impact lives in many ways. It also happens to be one of our most requested films we’ve ever experienced.”

How much do we know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families? Though our food appears the same — a tomato still looks like a tomato — it has been radically transformed.

In “Food, Inc.”, producer-director Robert Kenner and investigative authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) lift the veil on the U.S. food industry – an industry that has often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihoods of American farmers, the safety of workers and our own environment.

With the use of animation and compelling graphics, the filmmakers expose the highly mechanized, Orwellian underbelly that’s been deliberately hidden from the American consumer.

They reveal how a handful of corporations control our nation’s food supply. Though the companies try to maintain the myth that our food still comes from farms with red barns and white picket fences, our food is actually raised on massive “factory farms” and processed in mega industrial plants. The animals grow fatter faster and are designed to fit the machines that slaughter them. Tomatoes are bred to be shipped without bruising and to stay edible for months. The system is highly productive, and Americans are spending less on food than ever before. But at what cost?

In “Food, Inc.”, producer-director Robert Kenner and investigative authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) lift the veil on the U.S. food industry. They reveal how a handful of corporations control our nation’s food supply. The film will make its Arizona Premiere on Aug. 11 in the Sedona Film Festival’s “Best of Fest” series.

Surprisingly, all of it is happening right under the noses of our government’s regulatory agencies, the USDA and the FDA. The film exposes a “revolving door” of executives from giant food corporations in and out of Washington D.C. that has resulted in a lack of oversight and illuminates how this dysfunctional political system often operates at the expense of the American consumer.

In the nation’s heartland, farmers have been silenced – afraid to talk about what’s happening to the nation’s food supply for fear of retaliation and lawsuits from giant corporations.

In “Food, Inc.”, investigative author Eric Schlosser exposes a “revolving door” of executives from giant food corporations in and out of Washington D.C. that has resulted in a lack of oversight and illuminates how this dysfunctional political system often operates at the expense of the American consumer.

Food, Inc. also introduces us to courageous people who refuse to helplessly stand by and do nothing. Some, like Stonyfield Farm’s Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farm’s Joel Salatin, are finding ways to work inside and outside the system to improve the quality of our food. Others are brave men and women who have chosen to speak out, such as chicken farmer Carole Morison, seed cleaner Moe Parr and food safety advocate Barbara Kowalcyk. Their stories, both heartbreaking and heroic, serve to demonstrate the level of humanity and commitment it takes to fight the corporations that control the food industry.

Food, Inc. illustrates the dangers of a food system controlled by powerful corporations that don’t want you to see, to think about or to criticize how our food is made. The film reveals how complicated and compromised the once simple process of growing crops and raising livestock to feed ourselves and our families has become. But, it also reminds us that despite what appears to be at times a hopeless situation, each of us still has the ability to vote on this issue every day – at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“Food, Inc.” introduces us to courageous people who refuse to helplessly stand by and do nothing, like Polyface Farm’s Joel Salatin (shown here) who is finding ways to work inside and outside the system to improve the quality of our food.

"I'm not generally in the habit of praising movies for being good for you, but Food, Inc. is more than just a terrific documentary—it's an important movie, one that nourishes your knowledge of how the world works," said Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly.

The title sponsor for the event is Gardens for Humanity. The supporting sponsor is Vora Financial. The series is also made possible by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Sedona.

“Food, Inc.” will be shown at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10, or $8 for Film Sedona members, and will be available starting at 3:00 p.m. that day in the Harkins lobby. Cash or checks only. Film Sedona members can purchase tickets in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 1785 W. Hwy. 89A, Suite 2B, or by calling 282-1177.

For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com.