The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution

2018 • 72’ • Canada

It takes a brazen personality to excel in the competitive world of professional cooking. A woman can only ascend the ranks if she can take the heat. Meet seven women chefs at the forefront of a “revolution,” including Chef Anne Sophie Pic of Maison Pic, the only three-Michelin starred female chef in France and one of only a handful in the world; Chef Angela Hartnett of Murano, London, a two-Michelin starred chef who survived Gordon Ramsay’s kitchens to become his first female protége; and Iron Chef and Top Chef Master Anita Lo of Annisa, NYC, who led the first all-female team to beat Iron Chef America Mario Batalion.

Director / Producer:
Maya Gallus

Producer:
Howard Fraiberg

Red poster for the film 'The Heat' with a white plate featuring a piece of meat and greens, a fork and spoon arranged to resembles a face, and various festival logos at the top.

Filmmaker’s Biography

Maya Gallus is an award-winning filmmaker who has been honoured at HotDocs 2017 with a Focus On mid-career retrospective of her work, which explores “a female gaze” (across gender spectrums) through a contemporary lens. Her works include: the award-winning docufiction, ELIZABETH SMART: ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS (TIFF 1991); EROTICA: A JOURNEY INTO FEMALE SEXUALITY (TIFF 1997), which was nominated for several awards, including the Genie for Best Feature-Length Doc; PUNCH LIKE A GIRL, a six-part series on amateur women’s boxing co-directed and co-produced with her partner, Justine Pimlott, with whom she received a Gemini nomination for Best Direction; GIRL INSIDE (HotDocs 2007), which won the Gemini Award for Best Direction in a Documentary and was nominated for the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social Political Documentary; DISH: WOMEN, WAITRESSING & THE ART OF SERVICE (HotDocs 2010); docufiction piece THE MYSTERY OF MAZO DE LA ROCHE (HotDocs 2012), which received a Golden Sheaf Award for Best Social Issue Documentary; and the fan favourite DERBY CRAZY LOVE (RIDM 2013) co-directed with Justine Pimlott.