In the documentary 'How to Feed a Dictator', premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, five private chefs recount their experiences serving some of the world's most feared dictators. From Kim Jong-il's love of pepperoni pizza to Saddam Hussein's fondness for fish barbecue, the film explores the intersection of food and power.
The Chefs' Stories
Keo Samoun, Pol Pot's former cook, still regards the Cambodian dictator almost as a god, laying out food at his gravesite. Ermanno Furlanis recalls the terror of making pizzas for Kim Jong-il, with his life under surveillance and olives on pizza spaced precisely. Charles Otonde Odera describes working for Idi Amin as life-changing, but later reconsidering after Amin's wife was found dead.
Morality and Survival
The film probes the fraught terrain between morality and survival. Odera remembers being ordered to cook a human heart, and earning a death sentence after Amin's child had a stomach ache. The documentary pairs images of animal butchery with state-sanctioned violence, creating uneasy viewing.
Loyalty and Denial
Coco Pacheco remains devoted to Augusto Pinochet, dismissing the tens of thousands killed. Saddam's ex-chef, appearing as a black silhouette, calls him 'the father of Iraq'. The film suggests that people help make dictators as much as they help unmake them.
Director Andrew Neel considered including Donald Trump, but the chef disappeared after Trump's election. 'How to Feed a Dictator' is seeking distribution.
