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Batali: The Fall of a Superstar Chef
2022. 92 min. Discovery +.
Batali: The Fall of a Superstar Chef charts the rise and fall of American celebrity chef Mario Batali: a story of excess and adoration, personality and power, and ultimately—dramatic revelations of abuse that bring all of it crashing down.
This feature length documentary exposes sexual harassment in the restaurant industry, where many employees suffer in silence or leave their jobs rather than confront a celebrity chef or powerful owner who can ruin their career. Five years after the #metoo movement, leaders look to rewrite the rule book and recalibrate power in the food industry.
Directed by Singeli Agnew. Produced by Veronica Adaskova. Editor Dena Mermelstein, Chris O’Coin, Marlon Singleton. Color by Mishel Hassidim. Left/Right for Discovery +
“For BATALI, @singeli and I created a look we called Food Noir, made up of two main ingredients: A vivid palette to evoke the rich sensory experience that Mario’s cooking was famous for. (We filled our frames with primary colors: tea light yellows, exit sign reds, and muted daylight blues). And a lighting plan inspired by the vibe of the infamous restaurant, The Spotted Pig: Dark, seductive, and dangerous.”