The Detroit Free Press documentary “Coldwater Kitchen'' is released to the world.
The news organization's latest films have been selected for the 2025 American Film Showcase, a curated collection of films screened by the U.S. Embassy to audiences around the world as part of a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and the University of Southern California. It was. of film art.
This documentary takes viewers into the culinary training program at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan. There, students learn the culinary skills needed to succeed in a fine-dining restaurant kitchen, from how to make French mother sauce to how to pour and debate wine. The film follows chef Jimmy Lee Hill and three of his former students as they overcome their hardships in prison and struggle to rebuild their lives after incarceration.
The film, co-directed by Free Press executive video producer Brian Kaufman and former Free Press restaurant critic Mark Kurlyandczyk, will have its Michigan premiere at the 2023 Freep Film Festival and will be the largest U.S. The film had its world premiere at the documentary film festival DOC NYC. In 2023, it won the James Beard Foundation Media Award for Best Documentary.
AFS' films include Oscar-winning documentaries such as “Crib Camp,'' “Free Solo,'' and “Summer of Soul.'' Each year, these 40-plus films provide a nuanced view of American life, reflect the diversity of the American experience, and provide a platform for cross-cultural dialogue with a wide global audience. . American Film Showcase is America's leading film and television cultural exchange program that brings people together through the power of visual storytelling. AFS partners with American filmmakers and distributors to annually bring together critically acclaimed American documentaries for screening to the U.S. Embassy.
For more information about the film, visit www.coldwaterkitchen.film.
