Food Meets Film at Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Food Meets Film at Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Story by Aja Goare

Photography by Dustin Klemann

The intersection of food and cinema – Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat or Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown or The Bear – can make for a delicious duo. But food can also serve as the vehicle for sharing and telling deeply human, emotionally haunting stories about life, love and loss. One such film that premiered at the 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival takes viewers into the bustling Manhattan diner called Veselka, where the lives of its Ukrainian workforce are served up in raw form as the assault by Russian forces rages on.

The documentary called Veselka, The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World is named for the restaurant, which translates in English to “rainbow.” The family-run business originated with Volodymyr and Olha Darmochwal in 1954. Passed on through the generations, the restaurant has operated as a New York City epicenter for Ukrainian immigrants and visitors.

The impetus for the film began, director Michael Fiore explained, as a story about the father-son turned business partners relationship between Veselka Owners Tom and Jason Birchard. But over the many months that cameras peered into this small corner of Manhattan’s lower east side, starting just days into Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the story’s focus began to shift.

“It wasn’t a difficult story to tell because it’s real, but it’s a difficult story to live and be yourself everyday with everything that’s going on in the background,” shared Vitali, a manager at the restaurant and a subject of the documentary. Stoic and reserved in the beginning, Vitali opens up as the film progresses and begins to express the deep sadness and fear he feels for his family back in Ukraine.

“Every time I watch the movie, I learn something new. But it’s hard to control my emotions,” he said during the film’s Q&A panel. “I just want to say that the peaceful sky and calm weather is not a given for all people.”

The many other Ukrainian employees at Veselka bond over the shared trauma of the war abroad, and other transplants in the city find connection and stability over a meal of borscht and pierogies. The film offers a window into the heartache of Ukrainian families, service as a kindness, and the power of food to unite and deeply nourish.

The film opens at theaters in select markets, including Los Angeles, on Feb. 23.

Festival Photo Highlights

Robert Downey Jr. received the Maltin Modern Master Award, the festival’s highest accolade. Downey was flanked by co-star Cillian Murphy, Oscar nominated for his role in

Oppenheimer, and actor Rob Lowe. Cillian Murphy shared, “Robert works incredibly hard to make it look so, so easy, because all the great ones do. But he’s not just a great actor, he’s kind of a unicorn, because he’s risen to the level of superstar that few of us can comprehend.”