by Christy Rodriguez de Conte
After years of producing work for CBS, NBC, Telemundo and Univision, Chucha Barber embraces her identity as a storyteller to bring Tallahassee Film Festival audiences a taste of truth in her latest documentary, “Unfiltered: The Truth About Oysters.” The festival runs Sept. 2-3.
Those of us with large sea legs and even larger sea bellies burn into our memory the months that have an “R” in them, to partake in the delicious decadence of an oyster. Though the myth that urges avoiding oysters that have been harvested in the warmer summer months of May through August have been disproven, the allure of the oyster is very real.
Oysters are integral to maintaining our ocean’s health by filtering the waters and protecting our shores from storm erosion. The beauty and substance of something so small can remind us of our purpose, then inspire us to act. For the past few years, Emmy award-winning writer and producer Barber has collected stories and spoken to scientists to capture the alarming realities of a deteriorating ecosystem.
“Unfiltered” delves into the ramifications of our over-exploitation of oysters in Apalachicola Bay and throughout. “What I like most about TV is that it is very scripted. (You know) what you want to accomplish and what you want the viewer to take away,” says Barber.
“With ‘Unfiltered,’ we didn’t know. Frankly, we didn’t know much about oysters — other than they tasted good with a cold beer. In amazement, we looked at each other with so much we learned.” This film joins over 60 others in the 15th Annual Tallahassee Film Festival, an event created to entertain and educate through film. As one of the original founders and leaders of the organization, Barber feels that life has come full circle and is delighted to have a film at the festival.
Barber was raised in Miami in the 1960s and ’70s, a time of significant change for the city and its residents. Growing up with a journalist father and a librarian mother, Barber found a love for language and storytelling. She first branched out professionally in radio, creating sound foliage for a mystery program for CBS radio. Still, the screen called.
Read the rest of the article on the Tallahassee Democrat.
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