FAST FOOD OFF THE SHELF
(Por qué quebró Mc Donald’s en Bolivia ?)

Director: Fernando Martínez

Category: Society / Ethnology / Lifestyle

Production: Producen Bolivia, Azpurua Productions, Lagarto Cine / Bolivia / Venezuela / Argentina 2011

Language: Spanish

Subtitles: English / French

Length: 60 / 73 minutes

In December of 2002, McDonald’s had to shut down their restaurants in Bolivia. The company cited financial problems, but the real reasons were to be found elsewhere. Bolivia may be a small, poor nation on the global market, but a country’s fierce local food culture can be sometimes a more powerful factor than economic clout. In his first feature-length documentary, Fernando Martinez shows what happened, a story driven by the characters behind the events and their life stories, such as renowned cooks and a review of popular sayings about the Bolivian food. The symbolism is obvious when a multinational giant is ‘brought to its knees’ by a country’s traditions and heritage.