A Failure of the Imagination
Film Club

A Failure of the Imagination

Director Matt Hopkins documents the restaurant Silo's simple yet ambitious aim: creating a wholly zero-waste restaurant.
29th Feb 2024

Each month, we show you a short film that’s moved us beyond the day – meaningful stories that inspire us to pause, think and feel.

Every year, the UK food industry wastes 1.9 million tones of food. ‘A Failure of the Imagination’ documents the story of one chef and his efforts to change this.

In 2014, Douglas McMaster opened the restaurant Silo, hoping to change the unsustainable practices of modern food systems. His aim was simple, yet frighteningly ambitious: create an award winning menu using a zero-waste food system designed from scratch.

This is the story of that restaurant’s first five years.

Directed by Matt Hopkins for englandyourengland.tv.

 “There’s no other species on earth that wastes things – it’s just humans.”

Director: Matt Hopkins (matt@progressfilm.co.uk)
Production Company: The Progress Film Company
Cinematography: Matt Hopkins, Joe Sampson, Zak Thorpe
Photography: Xavier Beundia
Animation: Jessica Hislop
Editor: Matt Hopkins
Additional Editing: Ben Smith
Colourist: Vlad Barin
Colour Producer: Thea Dagnaud, CHEAT
Composer: James O’Connell
Sound Design and Mix: Joe Munday