Sara Joe Wolansky left her job as a video producer at The New Yorker in 2022 to pursue a feature documentary career. After a few months of reflection, Wolansky decided to make a film about a topic that she was passionate about: cheesemongers.
Like a sommelier whose expertise is wine, cheesemongers are experts in cheese. A vaunted, prestigious career in Europe, American cheesemongers are, for the most part, not held in such high esteem. Wolansky spent close to three years following America’s greatest cheesemongers as they attempted the impossible: beating the French at their own game and winning the Mondial du Fromage, the Olympics of cheese. The result is Wolansky’s first feature doc “The Big Cheese.”
In the film, the director follows a team of eccentric and determined U.S.-based cheesemongers led by Adam “Mr. Moo” Moskowitz as they compete and overcome personal obstacles during training for the Mondial du Fromage, which is held in France every two years.
Variety spoke to Wolansky ahead of the premiere screening of “The Big Cheese” at DOC NYC on Nov. 13.
You have made several short docs. Why did you think this film needed to be a feature?
This story had so many layers. Beyond just the competition element and the “cheese knowledge” element, there were so many personal stories from nearly every American cheesemonger I spoke to that each could have sustained their own doc. There is also a whole world of international cheesemongers with entirely different cheese cultures and entire other cinematic universes’ worth of incredible personal stories. Editing down some of the interviews we did with the international cheesemongers at Mondial and excluding most of them entirely was a painful challenge.
What was the biggest challenge of making “The Big Cheese” as a first-time feature doc director?
Funding for documentaries has always been challenging, but [it’s] particularly right now. As this is my first feature as director, I didn’t have an extensive track record or established funding relationships to rely on, which made things even tougher. I’m deeply grateful to our funders and investors for believing in the vision of this project, trusting me with it, and for embracing a more unconventional, out-of-the-box approach. It took a lot of “no’s” and a lot of perseverance to make this happen.
With competition docs it’s always nerve-racking because if one of your subjects doesn’t win, it’s a bit of a let-down for the audience. Was that a concern of yours during filming?
The challenge of making an underdog doc is that, by definition, the underdog is unlikely to win. The very tension that makes the story compelling is the same tension that makes a “Hollywood ending” improbable in real life. You have to approach it assuming they won’t win, and if they do, it’s an extra, unexpected bonus. So a key question I always asked myself, in both development and while filming, was, “What is our story about if the Americans lose?” I had always imagined Adam’s journey with addiction and sobriety as a key emotional backbone of the film. In 2019, during his last trip to the Mondial du Fromage, he hit rock bottom and even contemplated taking his own life. The 2023 competition, the first he’s attended since then, marks a powerful return. This isn’t just a story of redemption for the American cheese community; it’s also a deeply personal redemption story for Adam himself.
You wanted to make this doc “light” and funny? Why?
This film does get into a suicide attempt and drug and alcohol addiction, so it’s not without its darker themes. But I felt leading with the fun and approachable elements of the film would be an easier entry point for a prospective viewer into an exploration of those more serious issues. Humor can be an incredibly powerful way to build empathy and while there are many heartbreaking stories on this topic, I think it’s important to also highlight hopeful and inspirational narratives.