videos to Explore

http://www.explore.org/videos/library/ explore is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. explore’s growing library consists of more than 250 original films and 30,000 photographs from around the world. We showcase our work at film festivals, on over 100 public broadcast and cable channels, and on numerous online destinations including explore.org, Snag Films, Hulu and TakePart. “At explore we are archivists,” explains founder Charles Annenberg Weingarten. “We strive to create films that allow the viewer to join us on our journey as we go on location and experience what unfolds. It’s like the viewers are traveling with the team.” explore features a wide range of topics—from animal rights, health and human services, and poverty to the environment, education, and spirituality. Delivered in short, digestible bites, explore films appeal to viewers of all ages, from children learning about other cultures for the first time to adults looking for a fresh perspective on the world around them. explore films include: a woman in Mumbai who has dedicated her life to rescuing young women from prostitution, a priest in Los Angeles who helps gang members reintegrate into society, a project to protect wild mountain gorillas in Rwanda, and an environmental university in Costa Rica that focuses on sustainable development. Individuals and organizations featured in many explore films also receive explore funding in the form of Annenberg Foundation grants. To date, over $15 million has been awarded to more than 100 non-profit organizations worldwide. explore.org, the online portal for explore, is a community destination where people share thoughts, engage in dialogue, view and email films and photographs, and embed their favorites on blogs and social networking sites.

Foodie Films

1 Babette's Feast

Gabriel Axel, 1987

Parisian chef Babette becomes a cook in a strict Lutheran community in 19th-century Denmark. When she wins the lottery, she decides to repay her dour employers and the villagers by preparing a celebration meal, but the locals fear that such indulgence will be corrupting. Finest food moment (FFM): The heart-warming scenes as, despite themselves, the guests begin to enjoy the meal.

2 Big Night

Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci, 1996

Set in Fifties America, this is the story of two Italian brothers in search of the American dream who open a restaurant. Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, they decide to host a sumptuous banquet for singer Louis Prima in the hope that this will pull in the punters. FFM: The loving attention to detail with which the timballo is prepared is enough to make you cry, and the eventual creation of a dish that is just too magnificent to eat.

3 The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie

Luis Bunuel, 1972

Bizarre interruptions from clergymen, military manoeuvres and unexplained food shortages, prevent a group of friends from enjoying a meal together, no matter how they try. The director, Bu�uel, creates a series of situations that reveal the hypocrisy and empty ritual of the privileged classes. FFM: The exasperated expressions of the protagonists hoping for food but never getting any.

4 Felicia's Journey

Atom Egoyan, 1999

A poor Irish girl becomes pregnant after a brief affair with an English soldier. Misled about his identity, she embarks on a fruitless search for the father of her unborn child. Once in England, she is befriended by a lonely, middle-aged catering manager. But, all is not as it seems... FFM: Bob Hoskins, as the bachelor, spending his evenings recreating the dishes demonstrated on television by his celebrity chef mother, Gala.

5 Chocolat

Lasse Hallstrom, 2000

An attractive single mother and itinerant chocolatier, Vianne, opens a chocolate shop in a French village in the Fifties. She encounters fierce opposition from the mayor who fears the effect her indulgent, magic confections will have on the strait-laced residents. FFM: The villagers' faces as, one by one, they give in to temptation and enjoyment as they sample those irresistible cakes, truffles, hot chocolate and much more.

6 Eat Drink Man Woman

Ang Lee, 1994

A widowed chef tries to hold his family of three daughters together, but their only communication is over Sunday dinner. In this gentle comedy of food and family life, primary needs are asserted over more ephemeral desires. FFM: As the opening credits roll, it is such a pleasure to watch the chef preparing the Sunday meal, even the way he cuts the vegetables is inspiring.

7 Like Water For Chocolate

Alfonso Arau, 1991

Set against the backdrop of the 1910 Mexican revolution, the plot centres around a widow and her three daughters.The youngest girl, Tita, has the ability to transmit her feelings to anyone who tastes her cooking. FFM: Tita cooks quails in rose petal sauce and her passion for the dish so affects her sister that, unable to contain her desire, she runs from the shower naked, jumps on to the horse of a passing trooper and rides off with him.

8 Tampopo

Juzo Itami, 1986

Tampopo satirises Japanese society's view of the relationship between food and sex in a series of amusing vignettes. A wandering troubleshooter helps the heroine transform her nondescript ramen restaurant into culinary perfection. FFM: The lips of a gangster and his moll meet only after using their mouths to pass a raw egg yolk from one to the other.

9 Tom Jones

Tony Richardson, 1963

Based on Fielding's 18th-century novel, this is the story of an orphan adopted into an aristocratic household. Our hero's fun-loving attitude makes him fatally attractive to women, including the squire's daughter. FFM: Tom enjoying a bawdy meal with a buxom wench.

10 What's Cooking

Gurinder Chadha, 2000

A hilarious film looking at how four ethnically diverse families celebrate Thanksgiving in LA. On the day, tensions rise and boil over with surprising results. FFM: It's fascinating to see how the same ingredient, such as yam, is prepared differently by each family. courtesy of Waitrose