In order to live, we must eat. Food is our most reliable source of pleasure and the cause of great demands on the natural world.

This project examines the lives of 4 more-than-human beings, and uses gastronomy as a tool for speculation on desirable futures, and reflection on the present crisis.

Four Beings & The Regenerative Menu
We delve into the stories of the nearly extinct European Eel, the invasive American Crayfish, the for-sportfishing-released European Catfish and the – nowadays extinct in the European rivers, but one of the most consumed fishes worldwide – European Salmon. We uncover their stories of looming extinction, obstruction, displacement, commodification and human desire, and the fisherfolk communities that share them. Here, gastronomy is used as a tool for speculation on desirable futures, and reflection on the present crisis.

The rethinking of our relationship with food should be rooted in a greater awareness of the past, present and future entanglements of the life systems it depends on. And on a curiosity for what we can learn from the sustainable cycles that thrived long before human dominance. What are the teachings from the beings around us and how can we become better listeners?

Regenerative Dinner & Film Program
Our examination of the 4 more than human beings will lead us to the dinner table. We serve our culinary interpretations of the stories of these 4 beings as a tasting menu, accompanied with a drink pairing.

We developed a curated film program which accompanies our project. For multiple evenings, after the dinner event, we will host an independent filmmaker's work.

Saturday 19th from 21.00 to 22.00

Title: To Speak on Behalf of the Living
By: Joe Sartorius & Katinka Versendaal, 29'

Synopsis
A short film aiming to understand the last remaining fishermen of the Northern European rivers and wetlands as custodians of these ecosystems and their more-than-human inhabitants. Fishermen of the German river Elbe, the narrow inlet Schlei and the Dutch wetlands areas Weerribben Wieden and Biesbosch speak about their way of living, their relations to these bodies of water, their observations of decades of ecological changes and how their multigenerational embodied knowledge of the area is entangled with the wellbeing of the local ecosystems and its beings. They discuss the tension between caring, fishing, and eating; their reciprocal relationship and how some current water management systems and natural conservation methods are in contradiction with their ways of being.

Filmmaker’s bio
Based in Venice, Italy, Joe Sartorius is a British documentary filmmaker passionate about unique explorations of unusual spaces and the intricate stories of the people who inhabit them. With a keen eye for the overlooked and a passion for the environment, Joe’s work often delves into the relationship between humanity and water, examining how these elements shape lives and communities. His documentaries seek to blend striking visuals with intimate storytelling, inviting viewers to discover hidden worlds and engage with pressing social and ecological issues.

Katinka Versendaal Works interdisciplinary between the worlds of food production, consumption and gastronomy, cultural institutions and the social sciences. She uses food and speculative gastronomy as a tool to provoke an exploration and a redefinition of the nature/culture divide. Her work uncovers the deeply interdependent and intertwined relationships between humans, the world and the beings surrounding us. By developing convivial food research and experiences, she aims to envision regenerative and just futures of food.

From foraging to fishing, come to speculate together on radical conviviality through our workshop program:

Sunday October 20th at 14.30 to 16.00

Our guest, the 76 year old Arie van Dalen, has spent his life in dialogue with the surrounding waters of Woudrichem. He holds multiple decades of tales of fish and their fishermen, as well as the political, economical and ecological turmoil the area has gone through.

While demonstrating the nearly forgotten craft of netknitting, he will share stories of human & more than human conviviality, skills and crafts of the household, man made ecological changes in the Delta area, and their effects on industry and sense of community. Spoken in Dutch only.

In order to live, we must eat. Food is our most reliable source of pleasure and the cause of great demands on the natural world.

This project examines the lives of 4 more-than-human beings, and uses gastronomy as a tool for speculation on desirable futures, and reflection on the present crisis.

Four Beings & The Regenerative Menu
We delve into the stories of the nearly extinct European Eel, the invasive American Crayfish, the for-sportfishing-released European Catfish and the – nowadays extinct in the European rivers, but one of the most consumed fishes worldwide – European Salmon. We uncover their stories of looming extinction, obstruction, displacement, commodification and human desire, and the fisherfolk communities that share them. Here, gastronomy is used as a tool for speculation on desirable futures, and reflection on the present crisis.

The rethinking of our relationship with food should be rooted in a greater awareness of the past, present and future entanglements of the life systems it depends on. And on a curiosity for what we can learn from the sustainable cycles that thrived long before human dominance. What are the teachings from the beings around us and how can we become better listeners?

Regenerative Dinner & Film Program
Our examination of the 4 more than human beings will lead us to the dinner table. We serve our culinary interpretations of the stories of these 4 beings as a tasting menu, accompanied with a drink pairing.

We developed a curated film program which accompanies our project. For multiple evenings, after the dinner event, we will host an independent filmmaker's work.

Sunday 20th from 21.00 to 22.00

Title: My Want of You Partakes of Me
Sasha Litvintseva and Beny Wagner, 54’ ​

Synopsis
My Want of You Partakes of Me interrogates digestion as the fundamental condition for being in the world, a process of physiological, psychological, spiritual, literary and political dimensions. Multiple storylines trace the poetics of incorporation as a matter of metamorphosis and decay, the philosophy of matter and imperial conquest, industrialisation and annihilation, poetry and parenting, love and citation.

Filmmaker’s bio
Sasha Litvintseva is an artist, filmmaker and writer, based in London. Since 2018, much of her work is produced in the context of the ongoing collaboration with Beny Wagner.
Her films been screened at film festivals worldwide including at the Berlinale, Rotterdam International Film Festival, CPH:DOX, Cinema Du Reel, RIDM Montreal, Punto De Vista, Festival Du Nouveau Cinema, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival, Open City Docs, Camden International Film Festival, Olhar de Cinema, Vilnius Film Festival and Aesthetica Short Film Festival, among many others.

From foraging to fishing, come to speculate together on radical conviviality through our workshop program:

Thursday October 24th at 14.00 to 16.00

Riverine Foraging - Following seasonal changes in wild, feral, and domesticated flora along an industrialized body of water – a radical encounter.

In this excursion of ecological attunement, we will identify, pick, touch, taste, and smell various land offerings, reflecting on these marginal(ized) ecologies, along with a selection of foraging book archives.

With the herbs we gather during the walk, we will collectively brew tea at the end of the event.

In order to live, we must eat. Food is our most reliable source of pleasure and the cause of great demands on the natural world.

This project examines the lives of 4 more-than-human beings, and uses gastronomy as a tool for speculation on desirable futures, and reflection on the present crisis.

Four Beings & The Regenerative Menu
We delve into the stories of the nearly extinct European Eel, the invasive American Crayfish, the for-sportfishing-released European Catfish and the – nowadays extinct in the European rivers, but one of the most consumed fishes worldwide – European Salmon. We uncover their stories of looming extinction, obstruction, displacement, commodification and human desire, and the fisherfolk communities that share them. Here, gastronomy is used as a tool for speculation on desirable futures, and reflection on the present crisis.

The rethinking of our relationship with food should be rooted in a greater awareness of the past, present and future entanglements of the life systems it depends on. And on a curiosity for what we can learn from the sustainable cycles that thrived long before human dominance. What are the teachings from the beings around us and how can we become better listeners?

Regenerative Dinner & Film Program
Our examination of the 4 more than human beings will lead us to the dinner table. We serve our culinary interpretations of the stories of these 4 beings as a tasting menu, accompanied with a drink pairing.

In order to live, we must eat. Food is our most reliable source of pleasure and the cause of great demands on the natural world.

This project examines the lives of 4 more-than-human beings, and uses gastronomy as a tool for speculation on desirable futures, and reflection on the present crisis.

Four Beings & The Regenerative Menu
We delve into the stories of the nearly extinct European Eel, the invasive American Crayfish, the for-sportfishing-released European Catfish and the – nowadays extinct in the European rivers, but one of the most consumed fishes worldwide – European Salmon. We uncover their stories of looming extinction, obstruction, displacement, commodification and human desire, and the fisherfolk communities that share them. Here, gastronomy is used as a tool for speculation on desirable futures, and reflection on the present crisis.

The rethinking of our relationship with food should be rooted in a greater awareness of the past, present and future entanglements of the life systems it depends on. And on a curiosity for what we can learn from the sustainable cycles that thrived long before human dominance. What are the teachings from the beings around us and how can we become better listeners?

Regenerative Dinner & Film Program
Our examination of the 4 more than human beings will lead us to the dinner table. We serve our culinary interpretations of the stories of these 4 beings as a tasting menu, accompanied with a drink pairing.

We developed a curated film program which accompanies our project. For multiple evenings, after the dinner event, we will host an independent filmmaker's work.

Saturday 26th from 21.00 to 22.00

Title: Ama-San
By: Cláudia Varejão, 112’

Synopsis
A dive, the midday sunlight filtering down through the water. The air in her lungs has to last until she can dislodge the abalone. Dives like these have been carried out in Japan for over 2000 years by the Ama-San.

Filmmaker’s bio
Cláudia Varejão was born in Porto and studied at the Creativity and Artistic Creation Program of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in partnership with the German Film und Fernsehakademie Berlin and the São Paulo International Film Academy. She also studied Photography at AR.CO in Lisbon. Cláudia is the author of the short film trilogy Weekend, A Cold Day and Morning Light. Ama-san, a portrait of japanese divers, was her feature debut, receiving dozens of awards around the world, followed by In The Darkness of the Theater I Take Off My Shoes and Amor Fati. Wolf and Dog, her most recent film, premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival and received the Best Film Award at the Giornate Degli Autori section. Cláudia's films have been selected by and awarded at the most prestigious film festivals, including Locarno, Rotterdam, Visions du Reel, Cinema du Reel, Karlovy Vary, Art of the Real - Lincoln Center, Venice Film Festival, among many others. Alongside her work as a filmmaker, she develops a career as a photographer and has been invited to give classes and workshops at various Film and Art schools. Her work, whether in cinema or photography, documentary or fiction, lives in close proximity to her characters.