Food Roots (2023)

1h / Not Rated / Documentary
TRAILER: https://youtu.be/lpgQUqf5SpM

n the new documentary Food Roots, follow Emmy award-winning Chicago restaurateur Billy Dec’s adventures through his mother’s native 7641 Islands of the Philippines to learn recipes from his last living elders, confronting culinary and cultural treasures and family secrets.

Food Roots gives viewers the opportunity to accompany Dec by plane, boat, motorcycle, jeepney, and foot as he searches through bustling metropolitan cities, tiny remote islands, and hidden cloud-scraping mountain villages to find his family members. He climbs a mountain to meet with a 103 year-old tribal tattoo master, where she blesses him with a tattoo related to his ancestral connection. Through the ups and downs of the trip, Dec gains a deeper understanding of his family history, along with an elevated appreciation for how food has shaped their view of the world.

Guests are invited to stay after the screening for a filmmaker Q&A with Billy Dec, whose ties to Tampa include the Sunda New Asian restaurant in Midtown.

Presented by the City of Tampa Mayor’s Asian American Pacific Islander Advisory Council in celebration of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The group’s mission is to advise the Mayor and the City Council on issues affecting the AAPI community, promote and celebrate the AAPI culture and heritage, and advocate for policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the City of Tampa.