Constructing Albert

Directed by Jim Loomis and Laura Collado, 2017. TRUEDAY FILMS

Synopsis

Albert Adrià has all the ingredients of creative genius. Being a protagonist in the creation of El Bulli, the restaurant that revolutionised world cuisine, was not enough for him. He is now stepping out of the shadow of his famous brother Ferran to seek his own success.

The most important revolution in recent gastronomic history took place on a remote beach on the Catalan coast. The big bang of creative discovery that is El Bulli, voted the best restaurant in the world five times, was born in the minds of two brothers from a modest Barcelona neighbourhood. El Bulli gave birth to a new gastronomic universe, and the Adrià surname has since become synonymous with creativity.

Ferran Adrià is the famous chef who makes headlines and receives awards, but behind the success of El Bulli is Albert Adrià, his younger brother and co-author of this revolution. Just 15 years old, without a vocation or ambition, Albert began working with his brother a few years after Ferran arrived at El Bulli. There, in the kitchen, he would soon find a space to experiment and express his unexplored creativity.

A character full of contradictions, Albert’s career progressed far from the media attention that accompanied Ferran during the rise of El Bulli. Two years after the closure of El Bulli, while Ferran devoted himself to spreading the knowledge he had accumulated through his foundation, Albert embarked on a creative adventure of Herculean proportions. In Paralelo, the old theatre district of Barcelona, Albert built a gastronomic empire, 5 unique restaurants, the best in their category, united under the El Barri label. It is Albert’s declaration of strength, his attempt to escape the shadow of his famous brother and to take his place in the Olympus of the world’s great chefs.
The documentary was made over four years.

AWARDS

  • Festival de San Sebastián, Culinary Zinema
  • SXSW Film Festival, Sección Documental
  • Bafici, Sección Oficial
  • Festival Hotdocs, Sección Oficial
  • Festival de Guadalajara, Sección Oficial
  • Festival de Palm Springs, Sección Oficial