Santa Barbara

SBIFF PRESS

27th SBIFF held its World Premier of 'NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE' (2012) Sunday, Jan. 29th at the Lobero Theatre.

SYNOPSIS: 'NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE' tells the moving story of anarchist chocolatier, Mott Green, founder of the Grenada Chocolate Company, as he pursues his unique vision to create the best chocolate in the world, ethically and taste-wise. Along with farmers such as Nelice Stewart, this tree-to-bar chocolate factory -- the smallest in the world -- turns out delicious creations unknown to a world saturated with industrially produced cocoa, much of it produced by exploited child labor.

FILMMAKER COMMENTS
I started work on this film after reading an article about children being enslaved in order to harvest cocoa in West Africa. I teach about Third World issues, so I know the situation emerges from the complicated relationships between farmers, chocolate manufacturers and governments. Farmers receive a low price for their beans. In order to live even at subsistence level, they have to draw on a large pool of labor, which includes children who can be trafficked for this work. I felt more people ought to know about this and, equally importantly, that these are projects that show how things can be done differently. I stumbled across Mott Green and the Grenada Chocolate Company on the internet as I was trying to find out about ethical chocolate-making. After talking with Mott and hearing tales from his life, I knew I had found the story I wanted to tell. An anarchist chocolatier, with his tiny chocolate company challenging the global model of large-scale chocolate production, an independent woman cocoa farmer who builds her own house – both working to undermine the exploitation of child labor -- how could I not make a film about all of this? In telling stories about people who are doing the right thing, we see how social injustices can be challenged. The stories of Mott Green and Nelice Stewart show that it is possible to make chocolate in a highly ethical way. Their honesty, determination and compassion captured my imagination, and my hope is that others will also admire and be inspired by Nelice and Mott. My dream is that NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE will help inspire a new generation of people also passionate for change.

Kum-Kum Bhavnani - Director / Producer
Kum-Kum Bhavnani is a UC Santa Barbara sociology professor by day and film-maker by night. She has lived in California for the last two decades, via India and London. Her first documentary, THE SHAPE OF WATER (2006: narrated by Susan Sarandon) http://www.theshapeofwatermovie.com screened around the world, including in Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, London, Toronto, Trinidad, San Francisco, Washington DC, and at FESPACO and the 2008 Middle East International Film Festival. On its travels, SHAPE garnered a number of awards such as Best Documentary (Miami Women’s International Film Festival, Reel Sisters of the Diaspora and Queen’s International Film Festival), the World Cinema Award (DC Independent Film Festival), and Best Director (San Francisco Women’s Film Festival), as well as two HUGO awards. SHAPE was also selected as the centerpiece for the Human Rights section at the 2008 Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi. Kum-Kum’s hope is for her films to inspire a new generation of audiences, who are also passionate for change.

NEXT SCREENING: Sunday - Feb. 5 - 11am @ Metro 2

Website & Trailer: http://NothingLikeChocolate.com/index.php
Fest Link: http://sbiff.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/nothinglikechocolate_kumkumbh...

SBIFF PRESS RELEASE

-Shared by Vanessa McMahon