New Film, “King Corn,” Captures The Limelight in Wisconsin: Will This Be The Next Hot Food Documentary?

It certainly sounds like we’ll be definitely hearing a lot more about this new offbeat feature documentary, "King Corn," about two Bostonians-turned-neophyte-farmers, who grow an acre of corn destined to become high fructose corn syrup or feed for cattle being fattened up for slaughter.

I confess: I haven’t seen "King Corn" yet, but my intuitive, gut-level feeling is that this film will become the next hot food-related documentary with at least some of the hooplas bestowed on "Super Size Me."

Anyhow, accounts from Madison, Wisconsin, where the film was shown Woolf Friday for the third or fourth time in public — and the first time in the Heartland — were quite enthusiastic.

"King Corn" and filmmaker Aaron Wolf (seen below) were greeted with a "long, warm ovation" at the Wisconsin Film Festival, according to Kenneth Burns of The Daily Page.

Meanwhile, Rob Thomas of The Capital Times noted that the film "makes an offbeat but powerful case that the glut of high-production, low-quality corn is wreaking havoc on America’s diet and its environment."

Thomas continues: "If that sounds like a dry and didactic subject, filmmakers Aaron Woolf, Curtis Ellis and Ian Cheney, who attended the screening at the Bartell Theater and conducted a post-show question-and-answer session, actually made a wryly funny and fascinating documentary."

Reporter Thomas also notes that filmmaker Woolf said "it was serendipitous that `King Corn’ was being released just as the U.S. Congress begins debate on the Farm Bill, and the filmmakers say they’re directing their efforts there to change farm subsidies so they can support family farmers and, in the words of one expert in the film, stop `benefiting Happy Meals but not healthy meals.’"

Here’s a brief description of the film, taken from the Wisconsin Film Festival:

"The ingredients list on many kinds of packaged food reveal a lot of processed corn, from the corn fed to beef cattle to the high fructose corn syrup in your ketchup. Curious about how so much corn gets into our food supply, two Bostonians move to Iowa and buy one single acre of corn — a little corner patch in a huge field. The locals are, not surprisingly, skeptical about the plan, given the massive quantity of Iowa corn harvested each year. But Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis get some help planting the industrial-style corn that is a major part of our nation’s cheap food production, learning about fertilizer and government subsidies along the way. King Corn, which premiered at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival, is delightful and clear, taking care to illustrate complicated supply-chain concepts using animated Fisher-Price farm toys. Directed by Aaron Woolf, King Corn is a playful and witty documentary about modern farming and the American industrial food system. And it might just make you put down that popcorn."

Check out the captivating trailer here.

By the way, if you’ve read my book SUGAR SHOCK!, you’ll know that I discuss high fructose corn syrup  (HFCS) at some length, even citing studies and experts, who point out that as our obesity rates have soared, so has our consumption of HFCS. Some researchers even believe that HFCS if processed differently in our bodies.

I believe that inquiring consumers will be fascinated by my book SUGAR SHOCK! (which I invite you to order now) and by the new film, "King Corn," which you can order here.