Divine Pig

NEW DOCS

Gerard Zwetsloot is a free-range butcher living in a small Dutch town who thinks the meat of a happy pig tastes better, and so he raises his own. From piglet to sausage, he takes every step of his craft seriously: carving, grinding, and encasing every last bit. But he also has a soft spot for his lovable yet tasty companions. His newest swine, Dorus, accompanies Gerard for walks around town, stopping to wallow in sand at the beach. He has stolen the townspeople’s hearts, but what will become of him? Following Gerard and Dorus over the course of a year, the film documents Gerard’s fluctuating feelings toward his product-turned-pet. Woven throughout are interviews with people who have very different relationships to pigs and pork, including Dafne Westerhof, who runs the Promised Pig Land sanctuary, where two of Gerard’s former porkers now live. An ode to a seemingly bygone era of production as craft, the film also looks at how complicated and personal our relationship to our food can be.  SB

Director

Hans Dortmans

Producer

Pieter van Huijstee

Editor

Patrick Janssens

Cinematographer

Erik van Empel

Release Year

2010

Festival Year

2010

Country

Netherlands

Run Time

60 minutes

Premiere

World Premiere