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This week:

Introducing the newest face of CNN Original Series: Carlton McCoy.

Plus, highlights from the Sundance Film Festival.

Introducing Carlton McCoy: Master Sommelier and host of a new CNN Original Series 

Carlton McCoy is one of three Black Master Sommeliers in the world and one of the youngest inductees to ever earn the prestigious title. He found his love of wine through his love of food, making him the perfect host for CNN's new Original Series Nomad with Carlton McCoy, a show that takes us around the world to find the places where food, music, art, and culture collide. 

But before he begins introducing us to cuisines from Mississippi to Seoul, we'd like to introduce him to you with an exclusive Q&A: 

Q: What is your go-to meal to make for friends and family?

A: There is no ailment that a chicken cannot cure. I have long believed that the chicken is proof that god intended man to eat animals. There is no part of the animal that cannot be enjoyed. There is something beautifully soulful about cooking a whole bird for friends and family. Whether it is roasted until crisp and glistening or slowly simmered in a donabe, every culture in the world has their own approach to preparing the noble bird.

Q: Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?

A: A dinner party’s sole purpose is to have thought compelling conversation intertwined with full belly laughter. I’ve been at tables with absolutely horrid food, and while that is not ideal, the conversations and drink were wonderful. With that in mind, Richard Pryor, for his thought-provoking comedy, Alan Watts to educate us on the purpose of existence and Nina Simone because I feel that she could hold her own at any table in the world and lastly because if we could somehow convince her to jump on the piano and play “I Loves You Porgy” then my life would be complete.

I was so terrified of failing this class and losing my scholarship that I studied night and day. I ended up getting one top grades of the year and got a scholarship to travel through Italy to explore the various key regions: Piemonte, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Rome. We studied wine, food, art etc. It was amazing. This is when I caught the travel bug. How many other worlds were there that I didn’t know existed? I’m still chasing that first high of travel.

Q: What is the weirdest food you’ve ever paired with a glass of wine?

A: Shirako is Cod Sperm. I worked for a chef who went on a journey through Japan as was enamored with this ingredient. Over the course of a week, I tasted no less than 10 different Shirako dishes to decide which one would make the menu. I’m fairly open to eating most anything once, but this was not an ingredient that I was thrilled to become this familiar with. I can confirm that the perfect pairing for Shirako, obviously depending on the preparation, is Blanc de Blanc Champagne. The acid and bubble help to help scrape the residual creamy film off your tongue.

My time at the The Nongam Estate in Andong (located 2 1⁄2 hours from Seoul) was absolutely mind blowing. I had studied Soju and Sool (the Korean word to describe all alcohol) production and drank countless bottle of “Green Bottle” soju at Korean BBQ restaurants but had never see artisanal Sool production. This family has produced their sool the same way for 600 years starting with their own naturally made Nuruk. This opened my mind to a whole new world of Sool to explore.

Q: Any quick tips for selecting the best wine for a meal?

A: As odd as this may seem, I generally don’t like the idea of wine parings. I typically prefer to advise people on some simple what not to do like- don’t drink Aussie shiraz with baked Halibut, but if you are some odd creature that really enjoys big red wine and fish, then who cares what I think! Drinking wine is about give you pleasure. The greatest thing about wine is that you can really explore and indulge your curiosity. There are so many delicious wines to be had. Buy something you’ve never had, perhaps a label you can’t pronounce. Buy it, google it and drink it. If it’s not your favorite, what the worst thing that can happen? You buy something else next time. Most importantly, don’t ever let someone who would fancy themselves a wine connoisseur or some wine critic ever tell you that you shouldn’t like what you like. Because what do they know?

Nomad with Carlton McCoy premieres Sunday, March 13 at 10 p.m. ET.

It's Oscars season, and CNN Films is in the running

Any movie buff's favorite time of the year is back: Oscars season. This year more than half of the directors on the Oscar shortlist for the best documentary feature nomination are women, including Betsy West and Julie Cohen for the CNN Film, Julia. Julia follows the life and career of Julia Child, the legendary cookbook author and television superstar who changed the way Americans think about food, television, and even about women.

The filmmakers say audiences are hungry for stories about iconic women. "The stories of women, the stories of people of color over the decades in journalism and film tend to be a little bit under-told, a little bit trivialized or maybe a little bit not told at all, so once we've started telling women's stories, it's almost like we can't stop," said director Julie Cohen.

Cohen and West might sound familiar to you because they are also the filmmakers behind RBG, CNN's Emmy-winning documentary about the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They will be bringing us another film later this year, Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, which focuses on former US Representative Gabrielle Giffords' recovery and perseverance following her attempted assassination in 2011.  

Making moves at Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival concluded last night after ten days of showcasing a wide array of stories. CNN Films made a splash at the festival in a variety of ways. 

The CNN Film Navalny won the Festival Favorite Award, selected by public vote. It was a last-minute surprise entry to the US Documentary Competition and premiered at the festival to critical acclaim. Navalny, directed by Daniel Roher, is a fly-on-the-wall documentary thriller that follows Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny after he was poisoned in August 2020 in an attempted assassination.

Three additional documentaries featured at the festival ⁠— Aftershock from Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee, I Didn’t See You There from Reid Davenport, and Mija from Isabel Castro ⁠— were recipients of grants from CNN Films and Points North Institute's American Documentary Fund. Since its launch in 2020, the fund has awarded grants to filmmakers making projects that highlight pivotal moments in America.

CNN Films is a proud supporter of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. For more about the winners and films, you can take a look at CNN's complete review of the festival here.