Bigger than life on the Douro
The words incredible, unique, and fantastic may seem to be over-used in connection with the Douro, but anyone who has been there knows that those words has from today onwards it's multimedia support. Life on the Douro is a documentary about 300 years of history with direct ties to the current situation of wine production in Porto and the Douro valley. Produced by Zev Robinson, the initiative began with Oscar Quevedo's interest, and Roy Hersh who created a special tour of the Douro that gave Zev Robinson access to many of the most important players in the region, and they will be doing presentations and providing support whenever possible.
It is the result of 5 trips and 45 days of filming over the course of 15 months, creating the best possible film with a strong narrative and visual impact, capturing everything from the buildings and warehouses in Gaia and Porto to the Douro vineyards, to the various aspects of winemaking, to the landscapes and river in all four seasons.
Twenty eight people were interviewed, including many key figures involved in wine, giving their viewpoints about the development, present situation and future of the region on a variety of topics. Many spoke in intimate detail about their family histories going back going back centuries, and Life on the Douro has now captured that oral history.
Screening and tasting events are being set up in North America and Europe, and hopefully elsewhere, over the next year, making the image and history of the region more widely known, as it undoubtedly deserves to be. Currently the film will premiere at the Douro Film Harvest festival on September 6 at the Vidago Palace Hotel in Vidago
There will be three or four screenings in California in mid November, including Los Angeles on November 15, San Francisco Nov. 17 and the Paso Robles Film Festival on Nov. 20. Screening of the film will be followed by a tasting and presentation by Roy Hersh of For The Love of Port, Oscar Quevedo of the Quevedo winery in Sao Joao de Pesqueira and Luiz Alberto of The Wine Hub.
