An eight-minute film documenting food waste – and some possible solutions – was one of five films to win the Sundance Short Film Challenge. “Man in the Maze” explores the complex issues of food waste and hunger. It takes viewers on a journey beginning at a landfill, to a food bank, and into a discussion about gardens.
“Man in the Maze” was produced by Greener Media. The filmmakers are Phil Buccellato and Jesse Ash, and the short features Gary Nabhan, a MacArthur genius grant recipient, academic, and food activist and leader. Nabhan is a long-time Arizona resident, and a prolific author.
Kathleen Allen reports for the Arizona Daily Star:
“It begins with an aerial scene of the dumping of the produce from Mexico. Red tomatoes, yellow peppers and green cucumbers tumble over the landfill, most looking fresh and eatable. Nogales is the largest inland entry port for fresh produce in the world, Nabhan says in the film, and the third largest port of entry in the country.
“Twenty-five to 30 percent of all the produce that we eat year round comes from the border towns,” Nabhan goes on to say.
“With that is a tremendous amount of food waste, because if the Florida tomato prices drop on a certain day, 120,000 pounds might be thrown into a landfill just because of the pricing.”
The Arizona Daily Star is hosting the film on its website for one week, and may be viewed free-of-charge.