La Picasso Food Forest

This project was completed during The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of French and Italian’s May Term Abroad: Sustainable Cinema in Parma, Italy Program. This course explored the relationship between cinema, sustainability, and environmental change. Through the lens of Italian film, we examined how urban and rural landscapes have reflected Italy’s transformation from a predominantly agricultural society to an industrialized one, while also considering the environmental consequences of modernization. We analyzed films, visited relevant locations throughout the Emilia-Romagna region, participated in discussions with filmmakers, and explored how cinema can both document and inspire social and environmental change.

My team produced an original documentary on the Picasso Food Forest in Parma, an urban green space that demonstrates how communities cultivate biodiversity, sustainability, and a more resilient future. Our main crew consisted of myself as the Director and Editor, Abby Kerrigan as the Director of Photography, Riena Mishima as the Producer, Researcher, and Interviewer, and Bellissa Bolanos as the Producer and Production Assistant. Together, working alongside local tutors and community members, we conducted interviews, captured footage, and told the story of a project that serves as a model for sustainable urban development.

Our documentary explores the emergence and significance of the Picasso Food Forest, the first unfenced and completely public urban food forest in Italy. Located in Parma, within the highly industrialized agricultural landscape of the Po Valley, the film examines how this project emerged as a response to the environmental and social consequences of industrial food systems, biodiversity loss, climate change, and the growing disconnect between people and the ecosystems that sustain them. Rather than functioning as a traditional community garden, the forest embraces a holistic approach that mirrors the complexity of natural ecosystems while creating a shared space where the community can learn, participate, and reconnect with food production and the environment.

This film seeks to highlight the Picasso Food Forest not simply as a place, but as a community-driven movement that challenges conventional ideas of agriculture, public space, and environmental responsibility. By documenting the people who nurture and experience this ecosystem, we aim to show how participatory design can create new connections between food, ecology, and community. I'm grateful to the faculty, filmmakers, community partners, and friends who made this experience not only possible, but incredibly enjoyable. This program deepened my understanding of film as both an artistic medium and a tool for environmental awareness, while providing invaluable experience in documentary production and cross-cultural collaboration.