It has hit the headlines in Australia, causing thousands to question their sugar intake. Rebecca Fox talks to That Sugar Film director Damon Gameau about what he hoped to accomplish with the film.
Damon Gameau admits the timing could not have been more perfect for the release of That Sugar Film.
While the film was three years in the making, by the time it was ready for release earlier this year, word of sugar's dangers was starting to come out, the Australian actor said.
''The timing was right. We had got to the point where we are too sick as a population and clearly something is wrong with the food supply and while sugar is not solely to blame, it is clearly playing a major part in our illness.''
The popularity of the film, which uses the model created by Morgan Spurlock in Supersize Me to investigate the impact of sugar on people's health, was helped by the support of people who already understood its message, he said.
''The power of social media, with bloggers ... helping to spread the word.''
In the film, Mr Gameau turns the camera on himself to explore the impact of a diet containing 40tsp of sugar a day, which he accomplished by eating only food presented as healthy.
It was an endeavour which started out as a way to impress his health-conscious girlfriend and he was sugar-free for about three years.
''My mood improved, my sense of wellbeing and appearance too.''
So after a short-film competition win, he decided to try a longer film and decided to look into the sugar issue.
The film's ''hook'' developed when he was in the supermarket one day and picked up a can of tomato soup.
''It had 8tsp of sugar in it, which took me by surprise and got me wondering what would happen if I only ate what is perceived is healthy.
''Everyone knows what happens if you drink too many cans of Coke or eat too many Mars bars.''
It was a ''big surprise just how much sugar was hidden in food'', he said.
''The film doesn't demonise sugar. It's about empowering people with knowledge to make smarter choices.''
He was joined in the film by Hugh Jackman, who delivered the history of sugar in sand drawings, and Stephen Fry, to explain the science of sugar in verse, as well as scientists.
The medical fraternity had been supportive of the film, with some doctors and even a private hospital asking for screenings of the film for their staff.
Food producers had also not been as anti as he thought they might have been, having already realised there was a growing groundswell against sugar-laden products, he said.
While that was a good thing, people needed to be vigilant about what those companies were replacing the sugar with.
The low-fat campaign 20-odd years ago had been based on ''flimsy science'' and people were now realising healthy fats were important in a diet too.
Replacing those fats with sugar meant people had been consuming way more carbohydrate than their bodies could handle, he said.
''The lesson learnt from that is not to demonise all sugars. Eating fruit is important. It's refined sugar people need to be aware of.''
He urged people to avoid processed foods, instead buying ''real food''.
However he realised people's tolerance to sugar differed, and while he was very sensitive to it, not everyone was to that level.
His investigations for the film had changed his understanding of carbohydrates such as white bread and pasta, and he now avoided them as a result, instead choosing ancient grain products like spelt.
Now parents - their daughter is 16 months old - the pair had discussed a lot how they would handle the sugar issue with a growing child.
They hoped by providing homemade healthier sweet treats it would make her dislike the taste of refined sugar but admitted that was quite idealistic.
The aim was to not only tour with the film to Europe and America later this year but to also continue to support and promote educational resources around the film.
About 1000 schools in Australia had already signed up to the film's schools programme and he hoped similar numbers would do so in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and America.
''My big goal is to educate the next generation. It's quite a big job but I'm impassioned by it.''
It was exciting to see children reacting to the film and enjoying it, despite often not wanting to see it.
''It's very heartwarming.''
See it
• That Sugar Film screens as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival Autumn Events, Regent Theatre, tomorrow at noon and Monday, April 20, at 11.30am.
