Barbecue – Feature Documentary (2017)

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Winner of the James Beard Award for Best Documentary
Official Selection: SXSW 2017 (World Premiere)
Official Selection: Sydney Film Festival 2017 (Australian Premiere)

Barbecue is about more than grilling a piece of meat. It is a deeply entrenched ritual, an act performed religiously around the world, a ceremony refined over millennia. Every culture has some form of barbecue. But what is it about cooking meat over fire a thing that brings communities and families together? Barbecue is a tool for celebration. It is the pride of nations. It is something that transcends cultural differences.

Filmmakers Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker have travelled the globe, finding what it is that makes us human, what unites us in an increasingly uncertain world. Filmed obsessively over two years, in 13 languages, Barbecue is intimately told by those who stoke the flames and turn the meat. This is their story, told on the world stage. The result is a densely woven tapestry of thoughts and moments from a truly diverse world. With glorious cinematic images in 4K, and a full orchestral score, ‘Barbecue’ is a symphony of meat and fire told in epic detail.

Barbecue looks not only to the past, but also the future. From Shisanyama in Africa, to Engangsgrill in Sweden, people light fires, gather, and talk. This isn’t just a film about food – it’s about why life is worth living. From the Syrian border to an outback town in Australia, barbecue is all around us. We celebrate life through it. We find unity in it. We discover answers through it.

James Beard Best Documentary Nominee ‘Barbecue’ Is Like Anthony Bourdain Hijacked By Terrence Malick
[Jonathan Beecher Field – Decider]

“Salleh’s 4k photography is uniformly gorgeous (as a DP, he is equally attentive to pretty sunsets as to the savory colors of uncooked shawarma) and Larkin’s Philip Glass-like score is worthy of vinyl release.”
[Sean L. Malin, Austin Chronicle]

“He [Salleh] captures gorgeous scenery and food in lush 4K imagery, loading up enough cultural nuance to make Anthony Bourdain look like a homebody.”
[Eric Kohn, IndieWire]

“Barbecue is a fascinating sociological document that certainly shouldn’t be watched when you’re hungry.”
[John Noonan, FilmInk]

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Film Sales Agent: Matt Burke, Submarine Entertainment

BARBECUE
A Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker Film

Screen Australia Presents  A Projector Films Production  In Association with the South Australian Film Corporation and Urtext Films  “Barbecue”
Music by Christopher Larkin   Performed by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra   Edited by Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker
Sound Design & Mix by Michael Darren   Sound Recordist Rose Tucker   Cinematography Matthew Salleh
Co-Producer Rose Tucker   Produced by Daniel Joyce   Directed by Matthew Salleh

101 minutes | 4K DCP | 5.1