Vanguard Cinema, Slow Food Bluegrass and the Nulu Green Building are pleased to present the award winning documentary “The Meaning of Tea," to be shown on Sunday, November 16, 2008, at The NuLu Green Building, 732 East Market Street in Louisville. The film will be shown at 3:00 p.m., followed by a question and answer session with the filmmaker, Scott Chamberlin-Hoyt. We will also serve tea from Kentucky’s own Elmwood Inn Fine Teas paired with food inspired by the Elmwood Inn series of cookbooks. Click here to view film info and trailer.
The cost for attending The Meaning of Tea Film and Tea Tasting is $10.00 per person, $5.00 for Slow Food and Vanguard Cinema members, seniors and students. Tickets will be available at the door.
The Meaning of Tea is an engaging and whimsical documentary film that explores the romance and complexities surrounding tea, a universally beloved and widely consumed beverage. Along with offering poignant glimpses at the deeper character of tea, the film sheds light on its many varieties, whose value, use, practices, and traditions are sometimes misunderstood, neglected, and even threatened by today's marketplace.
With its spectacular cinematography and indigenous music, this feature-length film spans the globe, unveiling many reasons behind tea's mysterious appeal. With an exciting mix of interviews, archival footage and music, the film explores the rituals and ceremonies of tea, as well as the ways it is celebrated and enjoyed by a myriad of unique cultures. Over the course of 74 minutes we travel teacup to teacup, through eight countries: from afternoon tea in the Midwestern United States to tea estates in India, from the traditional tea ceremony of Japan to modern tea life in Morocco.
The common thread weaving together these individual stories is the question of whether there is any inherent “meaning” to be found in tea, particularly in an era increasingly dominated by mass-marketing, fast food and corporate coffee. Tea is recognized in many societies as being much more than just an ordinary beverage, but rather one that offers joys from the tangible to the ethereal. The ritual drinking of tea infuses awareness of the natural world and the value of taking time to cultivate well-being and human connections.
The film is currently on a tour of cities sponsored by the Southern Arts Federation.
The Louisville Vanguard Cinema, the only local dine-in, drink-in, dual-screen independent cinema is counting on the public to make the dream a reality. Cities across the country from Austin, Chicago, and Portland to Asheville NC and Springfield MO have their own cinema drafthouses showing quality artistic films – why not Louisville? Don’t we deserve to join their ranks?
What can The Vanguard offer that others can't?
- Wood-oven fired pizza
- A full bar
- Outside seating
- Full service inside theaters
- Tons of awesomeness
We will screen everything from the latest David Lynch, Richard Kelly, Michael Haneke, and Spike Jonze offerings to animé and Evil Dead 2. Documentaries? We got ‘em. Foreign films, director appearances, film festivals, filmmaking workshops. We will have drive-in movies in the parking lot with the sound broadcast over the FM dial. We will have special menus to reflect various films. We will screen the latest our local community of filmmakers can muster up. You get the idea.
This is where you come in. The recent economic downturn has led us to you, the very people who are going to come to the Vanguard. We prefer to trust you rather than the banks. The film fanatics of Louisville are the key to making this project happen and here’s how you can help...
