Filmmakers Brian Gersten, Liv Dubendorf, and Wei Ying’s entertaining and enlightening short film looks at the history, environmental impact, and pure enjoyment of consuming caviar. Once a food for the poor, caviar is now considered a delicacy, savored for its unique taste and texture, but expensive due to being in short supply. People react differently to eating caviar for the first time, as shown here in humorous clips: Tom Hanks (Big) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic) firmly reject caviar, while Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) and Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) are both overly enthusiastic consumers. Caviar or fish roe comes from sturgeon and since the fish’s population in the Northern Hemisphere has shrunk, sturgeon farming has become the sustainable way of producing supplies (the film shows workers at a sturgeon farm as they extract and process caviar for market). A lively fishmonger in Chicago describes his love for caviar, allows people to sample varieties, and says that he likes to educate people about good quality fish. Author and caviar historian Inga Saffron notes that it is hard to separate the love and desire for this luxury food from its environmental impact given the diminished population of sturgeon. Today, wholesalers and retailers in New York City sell smaller containers of caviar. A humorous, unique short documentary with an added environmental perspective, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Root)
Caviar Dreams
(2017) 15 min. DVD: $69: public libraries & high schools; $149: colleges & universities. DRA. The Video Project (www.videoproject.com). PPR. Closed captioned.
Caviar Dreams
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