Freep Film Festival opens with screening of documentary 'Coldwater Kitchen'

For opening night of the 10th annual Freep Film Festival, a swath of attendees descended upon the Detroit Film Theatre to watch the Michigan premiere of the Detroit Free Press documentary “Coldwater Kitchen.”

The film, which brings to life a 2018 newspaper article by former Free Press Restaurant Critic Mark Kurlyandchik, illuminates Food Tech, a culinary arts program for inmates at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan.

“This is an exciting documentary,” said festivalgoer John Schultz. “It really allows people to see the inside of an institution and how people can get a second chance at life. This is a reentry for them into citizenship and into the community.”

Before the screening, special guest the Detroit Youth Choir took the stage. Fifteen young vocalists performed a series of songs, including a rendition of "Hold on Just a Little While Longer" by Cleophus Robinson Jr.

Among the attendees were the stars of the film, supported by family members and friends. Clad in an emerald tailored suit of crushed velvet, a dapper Dink Dawson, executive chef and owner of Green Mile Grille and Food Tech alum, was joined by an entourage of loved ones.

“Ninety percent of my family is here,” Dawson said. “My mom, my kids, my brother. I still can’t put it all in words yet. But this is epic.”

Dawson called on viewers to watch the film with an open mind.

“When you see the film, look at it through different eyes and don’t let it be the same old, ‘Well, these people were convicted of felonies.’ Everybody can change. Anybody can change. I’m living proof,” he said.

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Tommi Vincent, a chef, life coach, author, public speaker and mother of the executive producer of "Coldwater Kitchen," Desiré Vincent Levy, beamed with pride over the film and its importance to the chefs seen on the screen.

“We’re here, one, to support Desiré because we’re really proud of the work that she’s doing in this space,” Vincent said. “And then to show up for all of the chefs that are featured in the film. I think it’s really important for us to rally around them in this process because I know that, even as they are garnering attention, there’s still a part of them that’s challenged with, ‘Am I worthy of this?’ It’s extremely important, especially in their hometown, for people to come and say, ‘We’re proud of you.’ ”

With emotions running high from the news that “Coldwater Kitchen” has been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award for best Documentary/Docuseries Visual Media, the film’s co-director, Kurlyandchik, said the day “feels like a dream.

“It’s been surreal,” he said. “It feels like the floodgates have burst open after today.”

Over the past few weeks, the Freep Film Festival has added additional screenings of “Coldwater Kitchen” to meet the demand of a captivated audience. “It’s just validating that there’s so much interest in this film,” Kurlyandchik said. “The food element of the film is a little bit of a Trojan horse. We lead with the food because we know that it has a wide appeal, and we hope that people leave taking away something a little bit more than just the food.”

Following the screening, Kurlyandchik had the opportunity to expound on the origin of the film, which started with a letter from former Food Tech participant Ernest Davis. Joined by Dawson, Food Tech executive chef and instructor Jimmy Lee Hill and Hugh Leonard, the brother of “Coldwater Kitchen” castmate Brad Leonard (who remains incarcerated), panelists were also able to share behind-the-scenes intelligence in a conversation moderated by Free Press editorial page editor Nancy Kaffer.

Hill confessed his initial hesitancy about welcoming Kurlyandchik to the program.

“I wasn’t going to invite him," he told Kaffer. "When there’s a food critic around, they don’t play." The crowd roared with laughter. After ruminating on the idea, he eventually opened the doors to the kitchen and advised his team to cook as though no one was watching. “We said we’re just going to do what we’d do if the cameras weren’t here.”

It took some time to adjust to the camera crew, and being in the spotlight is still something that's difficult for Hill to fathom.

“I don’t know how I got here. I usually go to see Denzel and Will Smith, and now my picture is on the screen,” he said to another chuckle from the audience.

Also taking the stage was Kimberly Buddin, senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union’s justice division. Buddin was able to speak to matters of prison reform, mental health and substance abuse among the incarcerated and the problems they face once they're out of prison.

“We tell them: 'We’re releasing you. We’re expecting you to do all of these amazing things in the community — or at least not come back here.' But we’re stripping all of the resources that they have in order to do that,” she said, later plugging aclu.org/smartjustice for information on ways to be an advocate for reform within the criminal legal system.

Hill closed the night with a heartfelt word of appreciation for the audience in attendance.

“Now that I look around and I see that my life has become a movie, you’re the best part, so I thank you for that.”

An encore screening of “Coldwater Kitchen” starts at 7 p.m. Friday, April 28 at the Detroit Film Theatre. Visit freepfilmfestival.com for tickets.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Freep Film Fest opens with showing of documentary 'Coldwater Kitchen'