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Feliciano contemplates a better life for his son in Mi Chacra.
From Big Macs to big bombs, Eric Schlosser tackles today’s hot-button topics.
WEDNESDAY FEB. 23
THURSDAY FEB. 24
documentary
reading
MI CHACRA
ERIC SCHLOSSER IN SUN VALLEY
A great idea can take you places. Case in point: Jason Burlage, director of the documentar y Mi Chacra. Raised in Idaho, Burlage moved to Cusco, Peru—the city that’s the gateway to the world famous ruins of Machu Picchu—in pursuit of a compelling stor y. According to his blog, he hoped to chronicle “the disappearing culture of indigenous communities” in the famous and sacred place. So, he picked up his camera, girlfriend and 9-year-old son, and set out to tell the stor y. Mi Chacra, or “My Land,” focuses on the new realities farmers and porters face—realities that clash with old ways of life. His subject is Feliciano, a villager who had gone to the city to attend school, only to be forced to return after his father’s death. Feliciano’s work in the village is hard: Not only does he farm to feed his family, he works as a porter, carrying heavy loads and guiding the way to Machu Picchu for tourists. Bound by the expectations of his family, Feliciano dreams of a better life for his son. Feliciano’s narrative frames the larger story of the Inca people—their history, their struggles and what modern life means to them. The film, released in late 2009, has received accolades from around the world, taking such honors as the grand prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in November. This Wednesday, Feb. 23, Burlage brings his story to Idaho with a screening at Boise Contemporary Theater. 7 p.m., $13. Boise Contemporary Theater, 854 Fulton St., 208-331-9224, bctheater.org.
Smoking pot and eating burgers: Doesn’t sound like the worst way to research a book. Eric Schlosser, author of Reefer Madness and Fast Food Nation, is headed to Ketchum to answer questions and discuss his latest nonfiction expose about the effects of nuclear weapons. After gaining journalistic chutzpah with his less-than-tender approach to marijuana, migrant labor and pornography in Reefer Madness, Schlosser went all David and Goliath against the hyper-conglomerate fast food corporations. Fast Food Nation disclosed everything from the undesirable conditions and practices involved in rearing and slaughtering hormone-pumped bovines, to the chemically enhanced hamburgers people wait impatiently for in drive-thrus. Although Schlosser is viewed by many foodies as the modern Upton Sinclair, he’s shying away from the gastro-centered industry and focusing on other interests, saying in an interview with British newspaper The Times: “Ultimately, I don’t care that much about food! I’m not a gourmand! For me, this subject was a way of looking at this country.” The most recent literary installment in Schlosser’s investigative journalism repertoire is called Command and Control and tackles the complex subject of nuclear weapons. 6:30 p.m., $25-$35. Church of the Big Wood, 100 Saddle Road, Ketchum, 208-726-5123, pcbw.org.
THURSDAY FEB. 24 dinner and a movie GROWING AWARENESS When the Jade Ajani’s Pacific Northwest documentary Growing Awareness came out in 2008, the acronym CSA had yet to root itself firmly in the popular vernacular. Now, the community supported agriculture movement
has become as much a part of the local foods movement as backyard chicken coops and farmers markets. Growing Awareness explores the CSA—a set-up in which consumers pay an initial fee directly to farmers and in return receive a weekly basket of fresh produce throughout the growing season—as an alternative to the industrial food system. On Thursday, Feb. 24, you can watch a screening of Growing Awareness in
18 | FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2011 | BOISEweekly
the cellar of Red Feather Lounge while eating a locally inspired three-course meal. Tickets are $25 a pop and proceeds benefit the local foods movement. This monthly dinner and a movie series is organized by the Treasure Valley Food Coalition, which is in the process of completing a local foods assessment. According to its website, the assessment will “help us make better decisions about what we eat and, in doing so, [help]
to chart a more sustainable community and food system for us all.” Next month’s dinner and a movie will take place on Thursday, March 31, and feature the film American Dream, which according to the film’s press release, “shows how life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has become work, debt and the pursuit of stuff.” 7-9 p.m., $25 not including tip. Red Feather Lounge, 246 N. Eighth St., 208-4296340, treasurevalleyfoodcoalition.com.
FRIDAYSATURDAY FEB. 25-26 dance OFF-CENTER DANCE PROJECT’S KINETIC KITCHEN When you hear the phrase “kinetic kitchen,” images of chocolate-covered mixing bowls, cracked egg shells and counters covered in flour might dance
through your head. But the Off-Center Dance Project doesn’t want anything to dance in your head: They want to bring the visual right to you. “Kinetic Kitchen” promises to deliver a delicious variety of ar tists presented in one evening of dance. The Off-Center Dance Project, as the name suggests, does things a little differently, striving to bring a unique perspective to the medium. This event is no different. The company is bringing three visual ar tists WWW. B O I S E WE E KLY. C O M