Film Spotlight: Food Fighter
JAMES COLQUHOUN
Ronni Kahn used to be a contributor to Australia’s annual $20 billion food waste bill when she ran a successful corporate events company producing million-dollar dinners. Then she realized the absurdity of throwing away perfectly edible food, trading capitalism for social activism by founding OzHarvest, a food rescue charity, in 2004.
Now, she’s taking on politicians and big business to expose an inconvenient truth: that four million tonnes of edible food is discarded in Australia every year while up to two million Aussies suffer from food insecurity. And to add insult to injury, this food waste ends up in landfill, harming the environment by creating greenhouse gas emissions.
Filmed over two years and across four continents, FOOD FIGHTER follows Ronni’s crusade against the global food waste scandal, partnering with the United Nations in Bangkok, rubbing shoulders with British royalty and Jamie Oliver’s juggernaut in London, and holding the government to account in Australia.
Conceding she lacked the “courage” to stay and fight the Apartheid regime in her mother country, FOOD FIGHTER also follows Ronni’s road to redemption, an inspirational woman bidding to make peace with her past.
In the end, however, it reveals what sort of individual it takes to effect such profound change globally.
James Colquhoun is the filmmaker behind Food Matters, Hungry For Change, and Transcendence Seasons 1 & 2 and founder of Food Matters and FMTV. Along with Laurentine ten Bosch, James founded the Food Matters community following the release of the 2008 documentary, giving people the tools (films, books, articles, and guided programs) to take charge of their own health. From here, FMTV was born! It was designed as a place where you can access vital information by watching all of your favorite inspiring documentaries, expert interviews, & recipe videos in one place, and in early 2020 FMTV found it's new home on Gaia.