The Citizen Jane Film Festival this weekend will wrap up with a saucy bite of the documentary “Dish” — a taste of what it is like to be a woman in the restaurant biz.
“It’s a great film and a great subject,” Citizen Jane Film Festival co-director Paula Elias said. “It speaks to issues of service I never thought about.”
With women dominating the service industry, “Dish” questions if this demographic is a moldy leftover of the time when women were expected to belong “in the kitchen.”
“There is a tradition in our society of mothers who devote their lives to providing for us and don’t get any respect for it,” Elias said. “It’s an unconscious thing that we expect women to do.”
Waitressing is a right of passage, according to the film’s director, Maya Gallus.
“I have been a waitress myself,” Gallus said “It was my first job, and I was a teenager, as it is for many women. The experience really stayed with me, and as I encountered other women who waitressed, I found it stayed with them as well.”
The divide between males and females provides the sourest ingredient in the restaurant cuisine, some feel.
“The industry is so slanted toward hiring women but in the lower spectrum,” Gallus said. “As the expensiveness increases, it gears more toward male service.“
The film hones in on four diverse culinary capitals of the world: Toronto, Montreal, Paris and Tokyo. Catering to a broad spectrum of restaurants, “Dish” reviews female-dominated truck stops and diners in Toronto to elegant five-star restaurants in Paris, which hire male servers only.
“It was important to me to show how all these levels are interconnected,” Gallus said. “The service industry is a microcosm to women in the workforce in general.”
The food scene in Montreal gives a completely different perspective on dining, with its provocative “sexy-restos.” Here, some women resemble the bodacious waitresses familiar in the American chain, Hooters, while others waitresses actually serve customers naked.
“The interesting thing is, whether you’re taking off your clothes or not, many of the issues are the same, Gallus said. “It’s about the dynamic between customers and server, making minimum wage and how to play the game. “
In Tokyo, there is pride in serving, despite its themed restaurants such as the anime and manga inspired “maid cafes” and Victorian-era “wonder parlors.” Both eateries require their waitresses to dress up in costumes as a type of role-play.
“It’s very subservient and quite bizarre from a western perspective,” Gallus said. “They really push the concept of service.”
Despite their diversity, the cultures’ unique spices somehow mix together to form the delicious melting pot of opinions savored in “Dish.”
“I want people to look at their servers differently after seeing the film,” Gallus said.
Primarily showcased internationally, “Dish” hasn’t had much presence in the United States yet.
“Citizen Jane sounds like a cool place where there will be an interesting exchange of ideas,” Gallus said. “For people who haven’t worked in the restaurant world, it’ll be a fascinating entree.”
Showing alongside the documentary “Dish,” is “BoCoMo: At Your Service,” a short film produced by Stephens College students about the perspectives of local waitresses in some of Columbia’s own restaurants.
“Dish” is premiering at 6 p.m. on closing night, Sunday, Oct. 2, at the Missouri Theatre. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors.
