Fat to Ashes weaves together three distinct narratives, beginning with a procession of St Agatha in the province of Catania, Sicily. Legend has it that the Roman prefect Quintianus had her tortured and her breasts cut off after she rejected his advances. As a result, St. Agatha is venerated as the Patron Saint of survivors of sexual violence, breast cancer patients, wet nurses, bell makers, and those seeking protection from fire.
The film then shifts to the Cologne Carnival, a raucous celebration of indulgence that spans from 'Fat Thursday' to ‘Ash Wednesday’, which marks the beginning of Lent and a period of reflection.
The third storyline depicts the ritual butchering of a pig in a remote Italian mountain village, filmed on a cold, winter morning, demonstrating vividly how agriculture becomes culture as living flesh becomes meat.

Credits:
Producer: Jacqui Davies/PRIMITIVE FILM
Assistants: Marie Elena Agiudo, Beatrice Tomassetti
Editor: Benni Atria.
Sant’Agata:
Sound editor: Antonio Gianantonio
Images: Pauline Curnier Jardin, Mirai Pulvirenti
Sound: Valentina Vallorani.
Köln Karneval
Images: Imogen Heath, Pauline Curnier Jardin
Sound: Christof Shilling. The pig
Images: Pauline Curnier Jardin
Sound: Tobias Haberkorn
Postproduction: The Post Republic.
With support of Académie de France à Rome – Villa Medici, CRAC Sète, Institut Francais de Berlin.
Courtesy The Artist and ChertLüdde, Berlin and Ellen de Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam.