Austin Filmmaker's Ambitious Project Gets Delicious: Short Films Highlight Odd Duck, Kocurek

We've noted more than once here that Rachel and I are devoted farmers' market shoppers. One stand we always stop at is the Kocurek Family Charcuterie booth. We have a few reasons. Of course, they're turning out amazing food: rillettes, terrine, pâté, bacon and sausage made from all sorts of great local delights. The products run the range from traditional to progressive. They're also classy folks who are serious about what they do but always friendly and happy to discuss their products and practices with you. Lastly, Larry and Lee Ann (and Eugene) have the same, somewhat unusual dog breed that we have: Redbone Coonhound. Great active dogs, but a bit sensitive, so we're often trading doggie anecdotes and ideas about how to deal with Ash (ours) and Brick (theirs).

Ash

Last week, after picking up a lemon basil chicken sausage at the Kocurek stand, I was at home flipping through the Chronicle, Austin's arts and culture weekly mag. It isn't unusual to find mention of the Kocureks in the food section. This time, though, they made their way into the film section, in an article about an ambitious project by local filmmaker Christian Remde. His Twelve Films Project is just like it sounds: a go at making one short film each month in 2011. One thing Remde has in common with Rachel and I is that he's enthusiastic about the Austin farm-to-table scene (and a devoted farmers' market shopper himself it turns out). That love spills over into his filmmaking: The July short is a documentary on the Kocureks; May's was about star-in-the-making chef Bryce Gilmore and his unfairly good Odd Duck Farm to Trailer.

Remde's story is pretty cool and very much in the Austin DIY spirit. Per the Chronicle, "[I]n late 2010, Remde, who has logged nearly two decades as a freelance editor, motion graphics artist, and visual effects artist, bought himself a fancy new Canon EOS 7D camera but had no specific plans for its use. When drawing up his New Year's resolutions for 2011, he promised himself he would make a short film every month in the upcoming year. And with that, the Twelve Films Project was born."

The films so far have been pretty diverse. For June, Remde completed a film for the 48 Hour Film Project. That one, called "Heist-Off," is a quirky comedy that wasn't what I'd call great cinema, but most classics weren't shot in 2 days. Is it me, or does the lead character rock it Burger King-style?

Star of "Heist Off" (l) vs. The Burger King (r)

Better for us was the May short doc on Odd Duck, easily the best food trailer I've ever eaten from. Putting together a whole film in one month -- writing, planning, shooting, editing and all of the logistics in between -- has to involve a few sacrifices. Considering that, the film does a good job of letting Bryce tell his own story and adding a few other perspectives to keep things more interesting. The multiple voices also provide weight to some of the themes by frequently sounding in close agreement. You can tell from hearing Bryce and "Farmer Kris" Olsen of Milagro Farm, the man who introduced me to the wonders of green garlic, how the collective passion for fresh, local, high quality foods and the support for start-ups and the smallest of ventures is turning Austin into a real "food city," and a unique one at at that.

Farm To Trailer: A Documentary from Christian Remde on Vimeo.

We're looking forward to seeing how the Kocurek film turns out. Someone was doing a little filming while we were at the booth last weekend, so maybe we'll even sneak our way into a shot. Good news is we won't have to wait long for the finished product. Christian Remde is halfway home to 12 now. I'm sure he'll deliver by the end of July. Until then, you can read about progress on his blog. Or tide yourself over with some of Larry's lamb cotto salami, cheek-to-cheek terrine and lemon basil chicken sausage.