When restaurants were forced to shutter in California on March 15th, many pivoted overnight, reinventing themselves into food pantries, groceries, and takeout operations for essential workers on the front lines of battling the epidemic.
Resy, in partnership with award winning new media studio Crimes of Curiosity, filmed the shut down and transition, chronicling a day in the life during the pandemic of four Los Angeles restaurants amidst the COVID-19 crisis—Alta Adams, Kensho, Kismet and Lasa. The result is On the Line, a four part documentary shorts series made by LA-based filmmakers Danielle Oexmann and Jess Engel, along with an all-female crew.
On The Line documents the four restaurants’ stories of overnight reinvention, adaptation, and survival. Each episode offers a lens into the realities these restaurants have had to face and the difficult decisions they have had to consider in the face of the national hospitality industry crisis. They are stories of perseverance, passion, innovation, and humanity that make clear how restaurants’ roles in our lives, communities, and cities are more essential than ever. The hope is that by documenting these very real hardships, it will bring awareness and support to their businesses, and all restaurants right now.
All four shorts can be viewed at Resy.com/OnTheLine.