Last Supper
The last supper has been given to prisoners facing the death penalty as long as the punishment has existed. The tradition stems from funeral rites where the deceased person was given food on his deathbed to protect him on his journey to the afterlife. Today, the ritual of giving the last supper to the condemned person has been detached from its origin, and can be perceived to be as absurd as the punishment it accompanies.
The Last Supper focuses on this discrepancy between historical "meaning" and contemporary use of a tradition that has lost its connection with the past.
The film mixes documentary material with sculptural installations and animated graphics.
The main character is the former death row chef Brian Price, who reconstructs one of the 200 final meals that he prepared during his time as inmate in Huntsville State Prison, Texas, US.
The film was shot during 2004 in the US, Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Kenya, South Africa and Sweden.
Last Supper was originally projected in "The Blue Sky Room", a reconstruction of a witness room for an execution chamber.
A frightening, revealing and contemplatative documentary, that looks at the self-contradictory practice of giving a dying convict his choice of last meal, before killing him or her. Not afraid to get into the nitty-gritty of execution, this documentary certainly isn't for the faint-of-heart but does get to the crux of a practice that is as controversial as it is well-intentioned. Wherever you stand on the capital punishment debate, this film will definitely give you food for thought.
