A TASTE OF SKY
ABOUT
In the Bolivian capital of La Paz, a city that sits 13,000 feet above sea level, an ambitious and unlikely culinary project has connected three people from vastly different backgrounds and is forever changing their lives. Kenzo, a hunter raised in the wild of the Bolivian Amazon, and Maria Claudia, a native of the Andean altiplano, are far from home. They have come to La Paz for Gustu, a groundbreaking fine-dining restaurant and cooking school for the country’s underprivileged youth. Founded by acclaimed Danish restaurateur Claus Meyer, whose last project NOMA won “Best Restaurant in the World” a staggering five times; the hope is to guide these young Bolivians towards a better future as they attempt to establish their country as the world’s next great culinary destination.
Michael Yuchen Lei is an award-winning Chinese-American filmmaker whose fiction and non-fiction work has played at festivals worldwide including Tribeca, San Sebastian, CPH:DOX and Palm Springs. His feature documentary debut, “A TASTE OF SKY”, about acclaimed NOMA co-founder Claus Meyer, premiered at Tribeca and was produced by Kevin Iwashina ("Jiro Dreams of Sushi") and Archer Gray ("20th Century Women"). A graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, he began his career in the music industry, as personal photographer to Joe Walsh of the Eagles and photographing artists such as Ringo Starr, the xx, Outkast, amongst others. He has been recognized as a fellow by the Points North Institute, SFFilm, the Swatch Artist Residency in Shanghai, Almnanack Screenwriting and Film Independent in both Documentary and Screenwriting. He is currently developing his feature narrative debut “THE RIFT”, a science-fiction thriller, which recently won the 2022 Tony Cox Screenwriting Competition.
CREDITS
Kevin Iwashina
Michael Yuchen Lei
Abby Davis
Jess Kwan
Ben Wolin
Michael Lei