Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table

A celebrity restaurateur before there were celebrity chefs, nonagenarian Ella Brennan is a James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award winner and influencer of culinary staples ranging from Bananas Foster to the farm-to-table movement. Her acolytes include star chefs Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme, but this vibrant matriarch redefined American cuisine through her impeccable palate and an unrivaled joie de vivre. Leslie Iwerks' warming documentary looks back on Brennan through decades, from her teen years learning the ropes in 1940s New Orleans. Balancing the family and the family business for over half a century, Brennan has inspired and collaborated with generations of chefs, ultimately launching cuisine that marries French fine dining with soulful Louisiana creole. With Ella's welcoming personality jumping off the screen and plates of shrimp crawling by, it's easy to be enamored with the Brennan legacy. It's perhaps harder to refrain from booking a flight to New Orleans to experience the magic in person. (Mill Valley Film Festival)