On The Cutting Board

FV team members Mikel Barton and Alix Blair after the first day...

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:39:35 -0400

FV team members Mikel Barton and Alix Blair after the first day of the IFP Doc Labs in NYC. Heading home along with the food carts.

Vittles contributor’s D.L. Anderson and Mikel Barton...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:29:00 -0400

Vittles contributor’s D.L. Anderson and Mikel Barton recently spent a day in prison, filming food services instructor Nancy Gould and her students as they prepared and catered a volunteer appreciation dinner at Orange Correctional Center in Hillsborough, N.C. The forthcoming short doc is being produced in partnership with INDY Week and the Southern Foodways Alliance.

A long-time inspiration for our own work, SFA selected the Vittles story pitch as one of ten web-ready docs to support for a series that will be presented on their site in mid-May. Brooke Darrah Shuman will be editing the piece with a soundtrack by Orange Correctional’s own Ready Singers, pictured above.

Photo by D.L. Anderson

Brussel sprouts, cucumber, tomato - by Andy Ellison A sharp...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:03:00 -0400

Brussel sprouts, cucumber, tomato - by Andy Ellison

A sharp knife is all we need to see the inside of our food, but a high-powered MRI scanner can provide a memorizing look at the anatomy of what we eat. Andy Ellison works at the BU medical school in Boston and over the past few months he’s been sharing some fantastic animated gifs of his calibration and quality control scans using assorted fruits, vegetables and other plants. Check out more on his blog: Inside Insides (http://insideinsides.blogspot.com/)

The fall season is starting at the Sutton farm and we’re...

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:56:29 -0400

The fall season is starting at the Sutton farm and we’re getting ready for a full shooting schedule through the winter. Here is Alex Sutton out catfishing late one evening in Lee County, NC. Photo by Jeremy M. Lange.

Charlotte finally pooped. Photo by D.L. Anderson One Chicken At...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 16:42:00 -0400

Charlotte finally pooped. Photo by D.L. Anderson

One Chicken At A Time

It was a right lively night of Chicken Shit Bingo at King’s, the perfect way to round out our Kickstarter campaign. For those of you who asked, we will be doing bingo again, most likely in Durham at Fullsteam Brewery. We’ll also be working on filling our incentives and developing other short documentary projects and screenings.

For now, we’re resting up, organizing and getting back out in the field to continue production on The Farmer Veteran Project. With the Kickstarter contributions shoring up a good deal of our budget, we anticipate many more months of traveling, shooting and editing on this project, most likely into 2013. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us, to the businesses that donated prizes for bingo, we can’t wait to share the results with you.

Pretty Bird, Pretty Bird, Where’s She Goes No One...

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:57:58 -0400

Pretty Bird, Pretty Bird, Where’s She Goes No One Knows

If backing our KickStarter project on the internets just ain’t yer style, get out of the house and come on down to KINGS Barcade for a night of Chicken Shit Bingo and cold, cold beer this Monday, July 16th. We’ll have right pretty birds, plenty of prizes and some long, but often, odds. You’ll get to shout about seeing some tail feathers shake and support The Farmer Veteran Project .

As a point of clarification, Chicken Shit Bingo works more like a game of roulette. Players cheer on a beautiful hen until she stops on a numbered square and makes someone a lucky winner with a shake of her tail feathers. Squares will cost anywhere from $2 - $5 cash per game. The center square just happens to be a Duke Blue Devil (thanks to the beer ponging frat brothers across the street) and it costs four times as much to play there. But you’ll also win four times as much, so bet on Duke if you dare. Winners are given prizes and the option to donate half of their take to Vittles, which receives fiscal sponsorship from The Southern Documentary Fund, a registered 501 (c)(3). Mr. Blake Hartman will be providing some banjo music in between games.

Chicken Shit Bingo | July 16th | KINGS Barcade, Raleigh, N.C. | 7:30-10 PM

Free Admission (bingo squares are cash-only) | Facebook Event Page | Map

This Sunday night Capital Club 16 will be converted into a...

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:35:00 -0400

This Sunday night Capital Club 16 will be converted into a mini-movie theater, replete with zesty smoked paprika popcorn and top dog minis (you’ll just have to find out). We’ll be screening two carefully collected sets of local cinema and give a rallying call for the Farmer Veteran Project in the final stretch of its KickJumpStart campaign.

It’s sure to be a big group hug for Triangle’s filmmaking community. We all could use more hugs. Who knows? This gathering and screening of one another’s work could produce quite a lovely blanket of collective support. But it’s July and hot as hell, so let’s get naked and critique one another instead.

In that spirit, a medley of complimentary beer, wine, gourmet popcorn and fine finger food will be available. Admission will be sliding scale $5 - $500 depending on the quality of your knock-knock joke at the front. Both sets of films will run aprox. 40 min. and we might have cheap champagne (so dress to impress and remember to keep it on).

Some of the films we’re screening:

When Walt Whitman Was A Little Girl - Jim Haverkamp (12:00)

Some Like It Raw - Andrea Love (10:47)

Grandpa Gives You The Bird - Marc Maximov (10:35)

—-

Facebook Event Page | View all of our Events

Jessica and Alex Sutton, June 22, 2012, Seven Lakes, NC It was...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:16:55 -0400

Jessica and Alex Sutton, June 22, 2012, Seven Lakes, NC

It was a busy week(end) in Farmer Veteran land. On Friday, Alix and I headed out to Mt. Airy, NC to meet with, interview and film a new friend of the project, Anna Mann. Anna is a veteran of Bosnia and Iraq and is now farming poultry, fruit and nut trees and honey in an idyllic setting in the foothills of the NC mountains.

Then on Saturday, we headed out to the farm of the newly married Suttons, for a full day of wedding celebration. The day started with a farm tour, then a lunch with family and ended with a party that lasted late into the evening. It was full weekend and we look forward to adding some of the new footage to the film. Until then carry on!

-jeremy

Chicken Shit Bingo Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 | Pinhook Bar,...

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:00:00 -0400

Chicken Shit Bingo

Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 | Pinhook Bar, Durham, N.C. | Free

If our KickStarter seems too hip and modern for you, come on out and support The Farmer Veteran Project by playing a game of Chicken Shit Bingo. You guess the square that the chicken will choose and then watch with delight while enjoying some sweet country jams and a cold beer until it happens. We’ll be at the Pinhook (map) with some pretty birds and long, but often, odds. You’ll have a good time, maybe even another beer or two. Here’s how it’s done in Texas.

6:30 to 9PM | Facebook Event Page |

Poster design by Sundholm

JML + DLA Mic Check, Photo by Alix Blair We were thrilled to...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 20:13:00 -0400

JML + DLA Mic Check, Photo by Alix Blair

We were thrilled to have a conversation with Frank Stasio on WUNC’s The State of Things to talk about Alex Sutton and The Farmer Veteran Project. There’s a real distinct and exhilarating terror to having a conversation live on public radio. Listen for yourself.

Alix Blair, Jeremy Lange and D.L. Anderson put the image of thousands of listeners out of their heads and had an enlightening discusion with Frank about the challenges of telling Alex Sutton’s story and how peeky toe crab sounds more like an affliction rather than an incredible soup that will be lovingly served up tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 20, at Vin Rouge. There are only a few seats left, so don’t delay, make your reservation before midnight tonight.

Speaking of midnight, that’s also when the Kickstarter match donation pledge of $1,000 from The Cookery will be up. Double your donation by backing our project now.

So there we were, up on stage, with the bright lights shining on...

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 15:02:44 -0400

So there we were, up on stage, with the bright lights shining on down and a sold-out crowd waiting for some kind of an explanation. All year we’ve been waiting for this moment, planning our pitch and carefully crafting the product. There have been delays, second-guessing and wishful thinking, but the time had arrived … so we did it, we launched our KickStarter - 32 days to raise $20K dollars to help finish our most important project yet, The Farmer Veteran Project.

Thank you to Jeff Polish and all the storytellers for collaborating with us to bring The Monti to a wonderful crowd at MotorCo Music Hall for a fitting start to our online fundraiser. From the late-night habits of Whitney and Bobby to the hardcore Idaho meat scene to some serious scatological humor, the range of food-related stories were fascinating, hilarious and incredibly supportive of the mission of Vittles Films: to use food as a pathway to uncover deeper stories about people.

Vin Rouge Dinner Update: We only have 16 plates left for our special fundraising dinner this Wednesday, June 20th, at Vin Rouge. This is going to be an incredible meal with all the proceeds going directly to support the Farmer Veteran Project. Don’t miss out on this, make your reservation today.

Photo by Jeremy M. Lange Ice cream!! For...

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:14:00 -0400

Photo by Jeremy M. Lange

Ice cream!! For local Kickstarter donors.

Our friends over at the Parlour ice cream truck are offering a special for anyone who donates to both the Farmer Veteran Project and to their brick-and-mortar storefront.

Those who donate $25 or more to both get a root beer float with a scoop of your choice of ice cream in one of the Vittles mason jars. We especially love the Coriander Goat Cheese with Strawberry Swirl. Yum.

Take a look at their Kickstarter and donate!

They’ll send out a survey at the end of their campaign and record all the people who donated to both! The award will be redeemable at the Parlour Bus in 31 days!

The Independent Weekly, our media partner, featured a lovely...

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:10:58 -0400

The Independent Weekly, our media partner, featured a lovely photo essay in this week’s issue on the Farmer Veteran Project. Photos by Jeremy M. Lange, one of the producers of the film. Click the photo above to read the essay.

Get your Vittles at the Monti MotorCo Music HallThursday, June...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 10:15:00 -0400

Get your Vittles at the Monti

MotorCo Music Hall
Thursday, June 14
7:30 p.m.

Vittles joins the Monti and local farmers, chefs, musicians and more for a night of food-themed storytelling.

Storytellers:
Nicole Accordino
Aimee Argote
Joe Bushfan
Tanya Catolos
Sarah Vroom

Tickets are $15, available at http://www.themonti.org/events/food.

Vittles is a team of documentary filmmakers crafting stories about the intersections of people and food. The Monti is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create community through the telling of stories. This event will be hosted by The Monti’s Executive Director, Jeff Polish.

Vittles will also launch a Kickstarter campaign for the Farmer Veteran Project, our most ambitious project yet.

(Above photo: Author Sara Barron speaking at the Monti story slam at Alivia’s Bistro in Durham, 2009. By D.L. Anderson.)

Counter Culture Coffee. Photo by Jeremy M. Lange. Our short film...

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:44:00 -0400

Counter Culture Coffee. Photo by Jeremy M. Lange.

Our short film Cafe Sense will screen at two local joints next week! See us at ChathamArt’s Sustainable Cinema Series with shorts from many other local filmmakers. 7:30pm at the Fearrington Barn Tuesday May 29th. Admission is $5.

Or come to Nightlight Club’s Salon on Thursday May 31st at 9:30pm. Dance, music and film. Admission is nada.

Watch the trailer.

“When I retired from the military, I was 100% disabled....

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:35:00 -0400

“When I retired from the military, I was 100% disabled. They said, I’m not employable. They just wanted me to sit back and enjoy years I have left. I can’t do that. One, I’m not one for that. And two, I want to show people just because you are hurt or are disabled, or just because you have what people call handicap or something different about you, doesn’t mean you have to stop everything you’re doing. That’s why I push hard every day. And me and Jesse, we run this 43 acres ourselves. Just me and her. Every damn day I do this. It helps. Keeps my mind off stuff. Keeps me occupied. If I just sit around here all day doing nothing, I get to thinking, thoughts lead to bad stuff.”

- Alex Sutton, farmer and veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

We will soon be launching a Kickstarter campaign for Farmer Veteran Project, a film that will explore what happens after war, when soldiers return to life in their rural communities and seek peace by working the land and tending to livestock. Stay tuned.

Summer Solstice, Hillsborough, 2011 | Photo by D.L....

Wed, 09 May 2012 12:11:00 -0400

Summer Solstice, Hillsborough, 2011 | Photo by D.L. Anderson

Vittles and Daylight Magazine are hosting a backyard fundraising BBQ with live music, film screenings and tasty beverages on Friday, May 25th, from 6-9pm in Hillsborough. This will be the first event to kick-off our 30 day fundraising drive for the Farmer Veteran Project.

Come around back and say hello: 121 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278

"It’s not a commodity. It is a commodity, but we don’t want to treat it like one...."

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:18:49 -0400

““It’s not a commodity. It is a commodity, but we don’t want to treat it like one. It’s way too precious for that.””

- Mark Overbay, of Counter Culture Coffee, describing the direct-trade approach they live by in the new Vittles documentary Café Sense.

Coffee taster’s wheel by Catherine Edgerton Check it...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:03:00 -0400

Coffee taster’s wheel by Catherine Edgerton

Check it out: Cafè Sense screens April 15th at the Full Frame Festival In-the-Works session: 1:50pm at the Durham Arts Council.

watch the trailer | more screening info

Wok Next Door

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:11:00 -0500

Wok Next Door:

Our first finished Vittles production. This is short documentary about getting up the nerve to ask your neighbor to teach you how to cook.