The Generation Gluten-Free Documentary (Beyond Brunching)
Tell us a little about your documentary "Generation Gluten Free" - what inspired you and what can people get from watching it?
Generation Gluten-Free is a 40 minute documentary on celiac disease and the gluten-free community. Production began in 2005, and it was formally released on DVD in January 2010. Since its release, the film has sold hundreds of copies in the United States and abroad.
I came up with the idea for Generation Gluten-Free towards the end of my freshman year at Barnard College in 2005. However, I think the seeds for the idea were planted as soon as I was diagnosed with celiac. As I previously stated, I was diagnosed in 2000 when celiac was under the radar. Being diagnosed when the gluten-free community was still a grassroots movement provided me the chance to see firsthand what a small, but dedicated group of people are capable of creating and accomplishing. I had the chance to not only meet, but get to know so many incredible people who believed that gluten-free as it is in 2012 was possible if people built it.
The idea came to be because no one was talking about gluten-free in mainstream America, yet I knew this thriving, wonderful community was doing incredible work. I wanted to share this community through a documentary. When thinking about the documentary, I wanted to include people who I knew personally, but people who had a national presence or whose stories were representative of the community as a whole.
After coming up with the idea, I worked very diligently along with my mom, who served as the producer, to get this film rolling (no pun intended) as quickly as possible. Within a few months, we started filming and a few months after that, the film was complete.
When it was completed, we held a few small screening and did a small distribution of DVDs for mail order. After that informal release, the film went on my shelf for a few years. However, in the summer of 2009, I noticed that celiac and gluten-free were starting to really become mainstream. I realized that the film had even more value now then when it was originally made. Without knowing it at the time of filming, I had captured the gluten-free community when it was still grassroots, but one that was on the cusp of change.
Beyond documenting the history of the community, I realized the documentary was a tremendous resource for education and raising awareness. The film is full of information about what celiac is, its symptoms, and about the gluten-free diet. More then just containing the information, Generation Gluten contains the information through stories. Stories are powerful. They are a great way to learn new information which makes the film great for explaining celiac and the gluten-free diet for those unfamiliar with them. Beyond just explaining, a number of the individuals in the documentary share their symptoms and I knew that people watching this film might say that is me, maybe I have celiac, and should get tested.
Since being released, the film has done just that - shared history, educated, and I hope, help people get diagnosed.
Generation Gluten-Free is a 40 minute documentary on celiac disease and the gluten-free community. Production began in 2005, and it was formally released on DVD in January 2010. Since its release, the film has sold hundreds of copies in the United States and abroad.
I came up with the idea for Generation Gluten-Free towards the end of my freshman year at Barnard College in 2005. However, I think the seeds for the idea were planted as soon as I was diagnosed with celiac. As I previously stated, I was diagnosed in 2000 when celiac was under the radar. Being diagnosed when the gluten-free community was still a grassroots movement provided me the chance to see firsthand what a small, but dedicated group of people are capable of creating and accomplishing. I had the chance to not only meet, but get to know so many incredible people who believed that gluten-free as it is in 2012 was possible if people built it.
The idea came to be because no one was talking about gluten-free in mainstream America, yet I knew this thriving, wonderful community was doing incredible work. I wanted to share this community through a documentary. When thinking about the documentary, I wanted to include people who I knew personally, but people who had a national presence or whose stories were representative of the community as a whole.
After coming up with the idea, I worked very diligently along with my mom, who served as the producer, to get this film rolling (no pun intended) as quickly as possible. Within a few months, we started filming and a few months after that, the film was complete.
When it was completed, we held a few small screening and did a small distribution of DVDs for mail order. After that informal release, the film went on my shelf for a few years. However, in the summer of 2009, I noticed that celiac and gluten-free were starting to really become mainstream. I realized that the film had even more value now then when it was originally made. Without knowing it at the time of filming, I had captured the gluten-free community when it was still grassroots, but one that was on the cusp of change.
Beyond documenting the history of the community, I realized the documentary was a tremendous resource for education and raising awareness. The film is full of information about what celiac is, its symptoms, and about the gluten-free diet. More then just containing the information, Generation Gluten contains the information through stories. Stories are powerful. They are a great way to learn new information which makes the film great for explaining celiac and the gluten-free diet for those unfamiliar with them. Beyond just explaining, a number of the individuals in the documentary share their symptoms and I knew that people watching this film might say that is me, maybe I have celiac, and should get tested.
Since being released, the film has done just that - shared history, educated, and I hope, help people get diagnosed.