“Food Chains” private screening in NYC brings out a VIP crowd…

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Screening recruits powerful new allies in the fight for Fair Food!

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Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of the Nation, addresses the crowd ahead of the private screening of the documentary “Food Chains” in Manhattan this past Tuesday.

These past few weeks, while millions of Americans have been hitting the beaches or heading to the hills to escape the mid-summer heat, the intrepid film crew from the documentary “Food Chains” has been criss-crossing the country as part of the long promotional campaign ahead of the film’s big November release.   Their tour brought them to New York City this past Tuesday for an invitation-only showing of the film at the Bryant Park Hotel screening room in midtown Manhattan attended by a VIP crowd of Oscar-nominated filmmakers, representatives of leading philanthropical foundations, and some of the city’s top labor, community, and food industry leaders.  Representatives from the CIW were also on hand to take questions from the crowd following the screening.

Here’s a firsthand report, from “Food Chains” director Sanjay Rawal:

The response from Food Chains’ domestic premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival was so great, and the gap between that and our November 21st nationwide release so wide, that we decided to hold a few small private screenings for policy makers, NGO leaders and community activists. 

The first of the three (SF and LA to follow) was held in the Bryant Park Hotel screening room in midtown Manhattan before a packed audience.  We were so fortunate to have Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation offer opening remarks, which she used to highlight the incredible work of the CIW.  

She was followed by CIW supporter and Food Chains Executive Producer Abigail Disney, whose special connection to Florida sparked her interest in the CIW and commitment to the film’s success.   She praised the film and its potential to blow the lid off an under-reported phenomenon — the success of the CIW in eradicating modern-day slavery and addressing the rights of women in a powerful and comprehensive manner. 

At the film’s conclusion the audience stayed for an additional 45 minutes as the CIW described the Fair Food Program in powerful terms.  The evening was a huge success and is sure to bring new allies to the efforts raise the profile of both the Campaign for Fair Food and “Food Chains”, which chronicles the campaign’s remarkable history, its struggles and victories, and its path toward continued success in the fight for fundamental human rights in this country’s fields.

We will be keeping an eye on the film as “Food Chains” continues to gain momentum ahead of its national release Thanksgiving week!