FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Facts and (Science) Fictions

This 3-day program is a platform for discussion derived from viewing two films, with screenings at Esther's Park in Sacramento, California. The films are Sounder (1972) and The Martian (2015). A near half-century divides their release dates, a hundred years separate their story lines. Despite these divergent time frames, both films turn on a life-and-death necessity to grow food in extreme environments and circumstances.

In Sounder, the Morgans, a Black sharecropping family, struggle to avert starvation by growing sugarcane on depleted soil in Depression-era Louisiana. Much as they long to send their gifted son David Lee to school full-time, they desperately need him on the farm. Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield both received Oscar nominations for their performances, and the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

The Martian takes place in the near future and chronicles astronaut-botanist Mark Watney’s attempts to stay alive on Mars — where he has accidentally been left behind by crew mates during a violent storm. Waiting for rescue, his only hope for survival is to successfully grow potatoes inside his vessel’s artificial habitat. The Martian received praise for its direction, visual effects, musical score, screenplay, and scientific accuracy, and won numerous, notable awards. Directed by Ridley Scott, it features a powerful cast that includes Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Food for Thought: Facts and (Science) Fictions is part of PASSING THROUGH PROJECTS — a social practice initiative founded and directed by artist Amanda Trager.

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DAY 1: The Past

Friday, June 23

6:00pm to 10:00pm

Esther’s Park, 3408 3rd Avenue, Sacramento

6:00pm to 6:30pm ||| Amanda Trager Opening Remarks

6:30pm to 8:00pm ||| Genesis Lara & Wilson Sefo Michel’s presentation will help place the intermingled legacies of Black family life and the role of sugar and slavery explored in Sounder within a transatlantic perspective through a focus on sugar, family and labor in the Dominican Republic. Q&A.

8:00pm to 10:00pm ||| Screening: Sounder (1 hour/45 min)

For this event feel free to bring your own snacks or meals for movie-time.

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DAY 2: The Present

Saturday, June 24

11:00pm to 4:00pm

Esther’s Park, 3408 3rd Avenue, Sacramento

11:00am to 12:30am ||| Ashanté Reese shares her current research on the cultural history of sugar in relation to the “sometimes contradictory and deadly sweetness that marks Black life,” with reference to the program’s films, followed by a conversation with UC Davis professors, Kimberly Nettles-Barcelon and Erica Kohl-Arenas. Q&A.

12:30PM to 1:30PM FOOD TRUCK Soul Ona Roll - Sac

1:30pm to 2:30pm ||| Judith and Chanowk Yisrael (Yisrael Family Urban Farm) bring aspects of the history of sugarcane in the U.S. South into the present time through discussion of urban farming — which includes their own personal story as well as that of Booker T. Whatley, George Washington Carver, and Booker T. Washington. Topics include the history of the CSA movement and how Black farmers introduced solutions to the problem of soil depletion.

2:30pm to 3:30pm ||| A sugarcane refreshment is served. Dennis Snydor (Renegade Dining)

3:30pm to 7pm BREAK

7:00pm to 9:30pm (sunset) ||| Screening: The Martian (2 hrs/20 min)

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DAY 3: The Future

Sunday, June 25

11:00pm to 3:00pm

The Brickhouse Gallery & Art Complex, 2837 36th Street, Sacramento

11:00am to 12:30pm ||| Carlos Monleon Gendall, visual artist, in conversation with Breeze Harper regarding Science Fiction and agriculture, with focus on the work of Octavia E. Butler. Gendall will also describe his 10-year+ project on growing wine on Mars. Q&A

12:30 to 1:00pm ||| Martian Potato Salad is served. Dennis Snydor (Renegade Dining)

1:00 to 1:45pm ||| Breeze Harper reads from her book, Seeds of Sankofa.

Host or Publisher Passing Through Projects / Amanda Trager