Ron Howard’s latest NatGeo documentary, “We Feed People,” premieres Friday on Disney+, and it follows a man who you’ve likely seen in the news or on social media in the past few years. Mr. Rogers once said, in times of trouble, to “look for the helpers,” and it seems, these days, whenever one looks for a helper, you’ll likely find Chef José Andrés and his team at World Central Kitchen.
For a decade, Andrés and WCK have rapidly deployed to sites of disaster and strife across the globe to serve hot meals to those in need, and 2022 has brought the biggest World Central Kitchen mission yet: since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, they have served over 27 million meals across eight countries to Ukrainians impacted by the war. Howard’s documentary is a portrait of the man behind the mission, as well as the early days of organization, and the formative experiences that taught them how to take on an endeavor as huge as feeding Ukraine right now.
While “We Feed People” doesn’t cover World Central Kitchen’s work in Ukraine, it offers up a look at how Andrés came to head up this organization, what drives him to continue this relief work, and some of the influential experiences that he and the team went through in developing their strategies for getting hot meals to people suffering through disaster. Andrés volunteered with the job training program D.C. Central Kitchen in the early ‘90s when he arrived in Washington, D.C., from Spain to head up the Spanish tapas restaurant Jaleo, and that model of dignity and empowerment in charity work stuck with him when he began WCK in 2010, in Haiti after the devastating earthquake. From Haiti, to Puerto Rico, to Guatemala, to the Bahamas, to the Navajo Nation, “We Feed People” tracks not just the important work of WCK, but of the organization’s growth as well, now capable of rapid-response relief just about anywhere in any conditions.
The World Central Kitchen mission is at once simple and complex. The goal is to feed people, and getting food to those in need is often challenging and complicated, but the purpose is always clear, and the impact is vast, serving an urgent need wrapped up with a powerful message of peace, humanity and connection. Stream “We Feed People” Friday on Disney+.
“We Feed People” speaks directly to Howard’s last documentary, “Rebuilding Paradise” (2020), about the devastating 2018 Camp fire in Paradise, California, the deadliest wildfire in state history. As climate change increases the size and deadliness of natural disasters, it’s those relief and rebuilding efforts that are going to be even more crucial in the coming years. Howard turns his lens toward the aftermath of the fire in Paradise, taking a look at how one town copes with a disaster that could have wiped it off the map entirely. Stream “Rebuilding Paradise” on Tubi or rent it for $3.99 on all other digital platforms.
Since 2013, Howard has mixed more documentary filmmaking along with narrative features, directing a handful of wide-ranging music docs, including the 2013 Jay-Z doc “Made in America” (stream it on Tubi), the 2016 Beatles doc “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years” (stream it on Hulu), and the 2019 doc “Pavarotti” (stream it on Tubi and Kanopy or rent it elsewhere).
Howard has also produced quite a number of notable documentaries through his Imagine Documentaries label. Check out the 2021 doc “Julia” about the lovable icon Julia Child (rentable on all digital platforms), the 2022 Netflix investigative film “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing,” the public art documentary about French artist JR “Paper & Glue” (on Peacock), “Once Were Brothers,” about Robby Robertson and The Band (on Hulu), and in time for Father’s Day, “Dads,” directed by Howard’s own daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard (on Apple TV+). Though he’s given us many of our favorite narrative films over the years, Howard’s documentaries are well worth the watch as well.
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