Palestine’s Fresco Films has boarded Tamara Erde and Mathias Énard’s TV one-off “Breaking Bread,” with France’s Haut et Court Doc already locked as the main producer. Tony Copti will produce alongside Emma Lepers.
Attempting to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through food, “Breaking Bread” will try to answer one question: Does gastronomy separate us or bring us together?
Clocking in at 52 minutes, the documentary – to be shot in Arabic, Hebrew and French – will go into production in the spring of 2023. Mediawan Rights handles the sales.
“There are many documentaries on this subject and most of them show the harshness of the conflict. We loved this project because of its lighter and more approachable perspective on such a dense subject, which creates the opportunity of reaching a wider audience,” says head of documentary sales at Mediawan Rights, Arianna Castoldi.
“Tamara’s gaze, so fresh, human and conscious of the reality of the situation, as well as Emma’s expertise in producing high-value documentaries, are what convinced us to jump on board.”
Erde is also hoping to engage viewers in a “direct and sensorial” way, using familiar angles to raise questions about complex matters.
“The idea was born when we met with Mathias in his Middle Eastern restaurant in Barcelona. We started to talk about certain dishes he serves there, and realized some differences in the way we perceived them, him from his life in Lebanon and me from my life in Israel.”
Erde, also behind “This Is My Land,” is an Israeli-French filmmaker. Énard is a French writer and the Prix Goncourt winner.
Described by the directors as an “emancipatory documentary,” “Breaking Bread” will invite the audience to join in their travels and taste the food, says Erde. But while they approach the conflict in a new way, they will still keep it serious.
“We definitely don’t believe things are simple enough to be solved by people sharing a meal or by having them say: ‘We are both having falafel, so let’s be friends,’” she says.
“Of course, it’s much more complex and in that sense much less optimistic. There are issues of cultural appropriation, emotional wounds and losses, which are also reflected through stories and anecdotes centered around food.”
“What we do believe in, however, is that through knowing each other better we can be more empathetic and stop seeing ‘the other’ as the enemy. Which is a fundamental first step towards peace.”
While the subject matter alone provokes debates and controversies, the filmmakers are coming up with ideas to have a conversation, not a confrontation.
“We would like to host events that would combine screenings with food tasting, creating a more relaxed experience that would then open up a possibility for less heated dialogue. We also imagine accompanying the film with a book of recipes, in order to keep the conversation going,” she notes.
Erde, who grew up in Israel, says it was the Second Intifada that made her realize that political decisions are often made without taking into account devastating consequences for the civilians. She found her dilemmas reflected in Mathias’ writing, often taking on themes linked to the Middle East.
“Since that moment, and this is the main question underlying the film, I have been asking myself whether it’s possible to be accepted by the person on the other side. Is it possible to share their plate and accept their presence?”
“My mother hardly ever cooked and for a long time, I didn’t cook either. But when I started to miss Israel, that’s how I rediscovered my connection to the country. I really believe that food, dishes and flavors carry the memory of people, their country and their culture,” she adds.
“Given the richness of the characters and the stories we’ve found, we are also planning a series on that subject. In that series, we would approach the whole region, and its history, through food.”
