The prized white Alba truffle exist deep in the forests of Northern Italy. Desired by the world’s wealthiest patrons, it remains a rarified mystery, which cannot be cultivated or found, even by resourceful modern excavators.
The truffle hunters are made up of Italian older men and their sharp canines, seen with their walking sticks, who only scour for the truffle at night, fearful of leaving any clues for others.
This small enclave of hunters, who display a devilish sense of humor, induces a feverish buying market that spans the entire globe.
Gaining unprecedented access to the elusive truffle hunters, filmmakers Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (who showed The Last Race at the 2018 Sundance Film Fest) follow this process cycle from the forest floor all the way to the elegant restaurant plate.
With a wily and absurdist flare, The Truffle Hunters captures a precarious ritual, threatened by greed and outside influences but still somehow protected by those clever, tight-lipped men who know how to dig within nature.
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Italy/U.S.A./Greece
Running time: 84 min
