A dozen years ago, a cloistered Benedictine
nun began to study the microbes that ripened the fresh milk cheeses
made by the sisters in her abbey in rural New England…a
quest which ended up with a 20,000 mile odyssey through some
of the most remote cheese producing regions of France. Little
did she realize when she began her journey that she was on
her way to becoming an international expert in the art of
traditional cheesemaking and a champion for preserving the
biodiversity
of
the tiny organisms which flavor cheese. |
|
The documentary film The Cheese Nun follows
Sister Noella Marcellino from her modest cheese cellar in Connecticut
to the centuries-old volcanic caves of Auvergne, France. We see
her research work with scientists on both sides of the Atlantic,
and visit her abbey where the cows are still milked by hand and
the cheese is made as it was centuries ago. Her goal is to understand
and preserve the natural cheesemaking environments which are
under threat today. The story is told with humor and wisdom, full
of contrasts and unlikely situations. It is a message for those
who enjoy good natural food and who want to understand the role
played by nature and traditions which have evolved over centuries. |
