Seasons’ Noodle: Servin’ A Dream

Peam Patrathiranond, Troy Macie, Nate Bogdan, Hammer Chen, Bon Nguyen, Kahléal Sykes

Problem

Disenchanted by reality, we commonly seek escapism through focus on unordinary people. To put it simply, society is for its people yet it doesn’t focus on them. We don’t focus on us.

“People are not only seeing a business. It’s not only about food, but other peoples lives… sharing is really beyond physical.” -Yan

Solution

To cure this, there needs to be a realignment of content, changing focus to the silent majority and grounding their stories in reality. Since Kodak’s decline, Rochester has been largely forgotten by the larger United States– creating disenchanted people across the city. People deserve a way to find kinship with the strangers around them. A tool to inspire sonder.

A documentary seemed like the clear solution to provide people with a story of finding true community in everyday life. We found a focus in the life of a local small restaurant owner, as food has been a place of togetherness for as long as human history.

Plan

After deciding we wanted to make a documentary focused on the life of a local Rochester resturant owner, we reached out to a handful of owners and finally found Yan of Seasons’ Noodle.

Our plan was then to:

• Conduct multiple interviews with Yan, his wife, and others within his community.

• Spend multiple days filming Yan’s day-to-day life.

• Discover a story which extends far beyond the bounds of food services– a story we believe can help our community.

Execution

In early Febrary, we spent multiple days with Yan. In those days, we discovered a variety of meaningful conversations and perspectives, including:

• What it means to be an immigrant, a husband, a musician, an active service member, and a small business owner.

• The emotions and connections of sharing culture and family traditions with the world thru food.

• What it means to be involved and give back to a community– and a variety of meaningful ways to do so.

Forward

Over the next year, the film Seasons’ Noodle by Peam Patrathiranond will be pitched to film festivals and then to streaming services. We greatly hope this is able to broaden the reach of the story and where it might be discovered.

As the rough cut of the film is the conclusion of our university capstone, we will also be working on soundtrack composition and additional editing before the major release to festivals.

Additionally, we hope that this documentary is able to act as a catalyst of inspiration for other local filmmakers to showcase our community in even more unique and meaningful ways.

SEASONS’ NOODLES