Meat the Future

2021 • 84’ • Canada

Imagine a world where real meat is produced sustainably, without the need to breed, raise and slaughter animals. This is no longer science fiction, it is now within reach. At the forefront of this urgent frontier is Mayo Clinic trained cardiologist Dr. Uma Valeti, the co-founder and CEO of Upside Foods (previously Memphis Meats), the leading start-up of the cultivated meat revolution. From a meatball which cost $18,000 per pound to the world’s first cultivated poultry for half the cost, the film follows Valeti and his team over five years as the cost of production plummets, and consumers eye the imminent birth of this industry. Proposing a game-changing solution, the film is narrated by Jane Goodall and features music by Moby.

Director / Producer:
Giedre Zickyte

Producers:
Daniel Chalfen, Uldis Cekulis, Catherine Simeon

  • World of Knowledge Science Film Festival 2020
    -Best Director Award Winner

    HotDocs 2020, Special Presentation
    Melbourne Documentary Festival 2020
    Documentary Edge Festival 2020
    DMZ International Documentary Film Festival 2020
    GlobeDocs Film Festival 2020
    Planet in Focus International Film Festival 2020
    Devour! The Food Film Fest 2020
    Environmental Film Festival Australia 2020
    Denver Film Festival 2020
    Rocky Mountain Womens Film Festival 2020
    Hamptons Doc Fest 2020
    Flatirons Food Film Festival 2021
    Cleveland Film Festival 2021
    Sarasota Film Festival 2021
    Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival 2021
    Riviera International Film Festival 2021
    DocVille 2021
    Seoul Eco Film Festival 2021
    DocVille 2021
    EAT.DRINK.FILM 2021
    EnviroFest 2021
    Galway Film Fleadh 2021
    World Food Film Festival 2021
    Ethical Film Festival 2021
    Seoul Int'l Food Film Festival 2021
    Filmocracy Fest 2021
    Millenium Docs 2022
    Northern Ireland Science Festival 2022
    Human Rights Film Festival Berlin 2022

  • “Engrossing.” “Persuasive.” “Compelling.”
    — Variety

Filmmaker’s Biography

An award-winning filmmaker who has written, directed, produced and filmed multiple impactful documentaries around the globe since the 1990s, Liz Marshall’s MEAT THE FUTURE (2021), chronicles the birth of the “cultivated meat" industry through the eyes of visionary CEO Dr. Uma Valeti. Liz Marshall opened our eyes to the inhumanity and environmental impact of animals exploited for food, fashion, entertainment, and research with her 2013 acclaimed film THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE. Additional titles are MIDIAN FARM (2018), about a 1970s back-to-land social experiment, and WATER ON THE TABLE (2010), about the human right to water amidst a global water crisis. Included in Marshall’s body of work is the STEPHEN LEWIS FOUNDATION TRILOGY (2007), about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, MUSICIANS IN THE WARZONE (2001), a War Child Canada/MuchMusic special presentation about war-affected children, and the 1995 music tour archive of folk-icon Ani DiFranco. Liz Marshall’s films have screened on multiple platforms and for diverse global audiences.