In The Outside Fire, documentarian and artist Tamika Galanis gives a glimpse into the Bahamian tradition of cooking over open fire, largely abandoned in the modern capital but preserved by communities in the surrounding Family Islands. See glowing Cascarilla branches, ash-covered Dutch ovens, and thieving yard fowl collide over a Saturday feast in South Cat Island’s Port Howe.

New Orleans filmmaker and cinematographer Paavo Hanninen tracks the life of a Gulf oyster from harvest to plate and highlights an emerging effort to use leftover shells as reefs to protect Louisiana’s dwindling coastline. Contemplate an innovative model of sustainable food production and consumption through this textured portrait of a Southern food bedrock.

Q&A with the filmmakers