Now, Forager beautifully depicts the connection between nature and our plates...
Interview with directors Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin
Interestingly enough Now, Forager doesn't advocate any simple reconciliation. ...Cortlund and Halperin try to stick to a certain local tradition of storytelling, a lyrical form of American filmmaking, that stays connected to its cultural habitat. (Dominik Kamalzadeh)
...exhibits quiet strength with its visual beauty and subtle observation of both nature and people.
Interview with writer/co-director Jason Cortlund
Elizabeth Weitzman's Top Ten - New Directors/New Films - Along with contemporary titles like the indie romance “Now, Forager,” you’ll find “Fear and Desire,” the first feature from a then-24-year-old Stanley Kubrick.
(INTERVIEW) Jason Cortlund Talks Saffron and Cinema: Part I
...one of the most pungent and unself-conscious films about downward mobility. ...New York moviegoers searching for a new and sincere voice should take note. (Kent Turner)
We've compiled a list of five films we cannot wait to see below...In this striking romance, two fungi foragers dream of traveling the land in search of exotic varieties, but the financial instability of the trade threatens to pull them apart.
...it’s one of these American independents that reminded me of decades past in its simplicity and quiet nature. It doesn’t aim to excite or shock, it really aims just to tell its story on its own terms. And it’s in a way a very peaceful story—I mean there’s conflicts in terms of the inner politics the lead character has, his relationship to commerce and making a living on his own terms, and just slow food in general. But for me it was incredibly refreshing and was just one of those films that could easily evaporate in the marketplace; it points to the importance of the festival circuit in general, and specifically to festivals like New Directors that embrace individual voices and talent versus the film’s potential in the marketplace. Although I do have to say there’s a huge group of people out there who are interested in culinary cinema in general, and political cinema in particular that plugs into kind of, real issues. It’s a kind of real take on this movement to retake or grab back our lives from these multinational corporations or the banking industry, or whatever the menace is out there, and bring it back, literally to the earth. And I’m very proud that film made it into the festival. (Rajendra Roy)
Now finally a movie made for foodies! With beautifully shot fungi...a story of passion and growing up in the tough culinary world. ...Now, Forager is an off kilter, low key American indie that might easily pass under the radar and I am glad I got to see it in this year's ND/NF. It features many mouthwatering dishes too. (Dustin Chang)
...an intelligent little American indie that's ironic and knowing and notable for the sharp specificity of its people, places, and specialties (casting and settings are tops, and so are details about food), shown off in a series of carefully located scenes.
A delicate affair of subtle and original flavors...
...this film is a gift to those who take their slow-food politics seriously.
Berlin buzz: market titles--Poland’s New Europe Film Sales, now moving into features, is selling Rotterdam selection Now, Forager: A Film About Love and Fungi, an American independent film about a couple trying to live by foraging mushrooms for restaurants.
Refreshingly devoid of the romantic glow emanating from most foodie pics, "Forager" presents a mycological marriage in decline without going for the cliches.
Now, Forager combines a light and potentially trendsetting food film with a charming road movie and especially a credible relationship movie... A pleasant surprise at IFFR 2012. (translation)
…a well-executed analogy between these small inhabitants of autumnal nature and life itself. (translation)
2012 Rotterdam slideshow
Interview with directors Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin
A beautiful food film from Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin... Highly recommended, the film made it to the top 10 of the IFFR!
Among American films world premiering in Rotterdam, buzz has been strong for both Julia Halperin and Jason Cortlund's narrative "Now, Forager: A Film About Love & Fungi," which premiered on Friday afternoon, and Matt McCormick's doc "The Great Northwest," which screened last night.
...Now Forager has much to admire, and will do well programmed in any season around cuisine, with particular resonance with the slow food movement, and beyond that is a smart American indie that could find fans who like their drama thoughtful.
Shroom With a View - An accidental case of poisoning and a torrential storm helped the fermentation of Now, Forager
...nicely shot with the rural foraging scenes quite charming and the languid pace a welcome change from overly edited films. ...The film is refreshing in that it lacks the usual romantic-drama need for dramatic intensity, instead relying on subtle performances and uncluttered dialogue.
Now, for the first time that we’re aware of, foraging is the subject of a feature film – ‘Now, Forager.’
Now, Forager provides a counterbalance to the often romantic picture of cooking and eating in films with a culinary bent and meshes perfectly with today’s Slow-Food movement.
Mushroom Fanatics, Sugarcane Harvesters and School Pranksters in IFFR's Bright Future Sidebar
NOW, FORAGER writer/co-director Jason Cortlund earns honorable mention for 2012 Hearst Screenwriting Grant with next project, LUMBERJUNKIES
We felt that Now Forager, a beautifully photographed gentle tale of a Basque couple of foragers was perfect for Poland and deserved special attention... This is a food lovers’ film told from an unusual pov. We liked its unique aspect of food from roots to restaurant.
The projects include...US indie Now, Forager [pictured], a relationship between mushroom foragers
Warsaw, Poland-based New Europe Film Sales has taken on world sales for Rotterdam selection Now Forager.
Good news about Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin's feature film Now, Forager, about mushroom hunters in New York (and just about the swellest film title we've heard in a while): Following its AFS Narratives-in-Progress screening in September, the film was invited to screen at the Gotham in Progress film market in Wroclaw, Poland, where it was awarded a Special Jury Recognition and $20,000 in titles and credits services. The film is set to premiere at the Rotterdam film festival in the new year.
Interview with writer/co-director Jason Cortlund
Interview with writer/co-director Jason Cortlund
iW's Project of the Day: In 'Now, Forager' Couple Makes Money by Hunting Mushrooms for NYC Restos
It's like Alice Waters meets Kelly Reichardt...