Cooking History
Austria, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic , 2009.

Directed by: Peter Kerekeš
Script: Peter Kerekeš
Producer: Ralph Wieser
Production company: Mischief Films
Cinematography: Martin Kollár
Editing: Marek Šulík

Format: video
Running time: 88'

Synopsis
Who would have imagined that wars could also be fought with pots, pans, and pepper shakers? In contrast with classic documantations recalling war memories with Talking Heads, the Slovakian film director focuses on a particular aspect: the sensual element of war. Military chefs have a unique, and until now, unshared influence on the battlefield. ‘A hungry soldier doesn't feel safe,’ explains a sausage-wielding army cook. Feeding troops is a tactical strategy used to truly astounding results in major European conflicts of the 20th century. A Russian woman's meat blintzes provide 11 million soldiers the necessary courage to conquer in the Second World War. A Jewish prison camp breadmaker executes a plan against his Nazi captors with the only tools at his disposal. Tito's personal chef shares the state dinner menus whose warring national cuisines foretell the Balkan War itself. By turns wry and rousing, the personal stories of history's forgotten witnesses quietly humanize war's unrecorded battles and their costs. Six wars, 10 recipes, and 60,361,024 dead – 'Cooking History' is a fascinating retelling of the past.

Awards
HotDocs 2009 Special Jury Prize

Directors Biography
Peter Kerekes graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava in 1998 and, after his studies, continued as a lecturer and co-founded the Department of Feature and Documentary Film along with Dusan Hanak. His first full-length documentary as a producer and director is '66 Seasons' (2003).The following year, Peter collaborated on 'Across the Border', an omnibus film bringing together a series of meditations on the idea of the border. 'Cooking History' is his second feature documentary.

Location and screening schedule:
SC Cinema, Monday, October 19th at 17.00
Europa Cinema, Tuesday, October 20th at 10.00
DOKUKINO Croatia, Tuesday, October 20th at 19.00