Ava Malazian
Chef
Ava Malazian is a private and retreat chef. She cooks for people in their own homes and on retreats, and she talks about food the way she cooks it, as something you do for someone else. In the film she is the one at the stove.
An award-winning short documentary
The Quiet
Ingredient
A film by Michel Pascal
Some things nourish more than the body.
Chef Ava Malazian and Michel Pascal prepare a special dinner for an extraordinary guest.
One dinner, cooked slowly, for a guest who matters.
Chef Ava Malazian and Michel Pascal prepare a special dinner for an extraordinary guest. The camera stays in the kitchen with them, from the first vegetables on the board to the candle on the table.
Ava is a private and retreat chef who treats cooking as an act of care. Michel is a filmmaker and meditation teacher, and he directed the film. Between the two of them, a meal becomes a way of paying attention to the person across the table.
The film screened at the 2026 Indiewood Film Festival at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, where it won the Audience Award for Best Short Documentary.
Stills
Eight frames from the kitchen. Tap one to see it larger.
Ava and Michel
“The trick is to go slow within the rush.”
Ava Malazian, on Just 15 Minutes, June 2026
Michel Pascal
Director
Michel Pascal directed the film and sits at the table in it. He is a filmmaker, meditation teacher and author whose work moves between film, meditation and music.
His earlier feature, We Are Never Alone, was recognized at the New York Movie Awards and the Milan Gold Awards.
Festival recognition
- Audience AwardBest Short DocumentaryIndiewood Film Festival 2026
- WinnerBest Short DocumentaryNew York Movie Awards · August 2026
- Silver AwardShort DocumentaryHollywood Gold Awards · August 2026
Screenings
- September 12, 2026
- TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, Hollywood, California
Indiewood Film Festival - Festival program
Credits
The Quiet Ingredient
- Directed by
- Michel Pascal
- With
- Ava Malazian
Michel Pascal - Running time
- 31 minutes 49 seconds
- Format
- Short documentary
- Year
- 2026
Press and screening inquiries
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Email about the film
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