SUNDANCE '23: Composer Ryan Rumery Connected with His Rural Roots while Working on 'Food and Country'
One of the many things that the pandemic revealed about the world is how fragile its food supply chain is. As the world continues to slowly recover, there is one new film that not only aims to show the world how bad things got and how bad they still are. Spoiler alert: egg prices aren’t the only thing you should be worried about.
Directed by Laura Gabbert, Food and Country is a documentary which follows food writer Ruth Reichl as she “reaches across political and social divides to discover innovators who are risking it all to survive on the front lines.” That’s according to the blurb listed on the Sundance Film Festival’s website, where the film premiered this year. As composer Ryan Rumery simply puts it, however, the film “exposes the processes food [undergoes] from the farmer to its distributors.”
Speaking exclusively to FilmSpeak about the film, Rumery explains that he felt compelled to help tell this story with his music because of his own rural background. “I grew up in Iowa and I worked on multiple farms to make money,” he admits. While he joined the film to get back in touch with his “country roots,” he quickly learned that the problem was much bigger than anyone realizes.
What set this film apart from some of his previous gigs is that on top of contributing music to the film, he got to speak with some of its subjects. “It was really cool to be a part of a film where I really understand where a lot of the people are coming from,” he says. “I learned a lot about just the holes in the system of how the food was being distributed.” He says that being able to create the music that elevates the story is not only an art or a job, but “a form of social justice.” He describes being able to help the workers share their struggles and stories as a “wonderful feeling.”
However, Rumery also says that one of the biggest issues the film teases is the “racial disparity with food” across all facets of the industry. He teases that the film highlights how minorities are being disproportionately impacted by the ongoing food crisis. When asked if or how the film might permanently change the problem, Rumery confidently says, “the shelf life for this film is infinite.”
He compares the current food crisis to climate change in the way that everyone is aware of it and what causes it, but no one has yet to fully commit to stopping it. However, he believes this film has the power to help experts put an end to the food problem once and for all. “I think the film is literally just a roadmap,” he says. Hopefully he’s right. Hopefully experts can clear their plates and address the issue before it’s really too late.