Big Mac Small World

Colour, 35mm
Switzerland, 2000, 100 min
Section: Documentary Films in Competition

Synopsis

Peter Guyer’s documentary takes on the phenomenon known as McDonald’s. The director interviews six people – from the USA, China, North Africa, Switzerland, Finland, and Brazil. Each of them speaks about him or herself and about the circumstances that led to working for the hamburger chain. The film crew is present at pompous celebrations for the millennium and at Santa Claus’s visit to a McDonald’s in Finland. The movie is a humorous addition to the ongoing debate on globalisation and shows how this singularity of American culture is penetrating and influencing every location around the world where one of its restaurants appears.

About the director

Peter Guyer (b. 1957, Zurich) studied medicine, German studies, journalism and ethnology in Bern and Freiburg. He has directed and shot many artistic videos and political documentaries. Selected filmography: Aktionen (1983), Fri Art Made in Switzerland (1985), Bernhard Luginbühl in der Reithalle (1989, documentary), EIBE 800 (1991), Die Angst, die Macht, die Bilder des Zauberlehrlings (1993, experimental film), Big Mac Small World (documentary, 2000).