As the popularity of hummus continues to grow around the world, a new documentary is seeking to explain how the pureed mix of chickpeas, garlic, lemon and tahini is far more than just a dip.
With US and Chinese food conglomerates having recently bought up hummus brands, high-street hummus outlets popping up throughout Europe, and some US farmers switching tobacco crops for chickpeas, 'Hummus! The Movie' explains the political and cultural antagonisms that have played out in arguments about the humble Middle Eastern dish.
It charts the so-called 'hummus wars' between Lebanon and Israel over recent years, as both countries vied to win back the Guinness World Record for the biggest bowl of hummus.
It interviews Lebanon's tourism minister Fadi Abboud, who explains why the world record was so important to his country.
"The Israelis now are claiming that hummus is part of their tradition, it's a traditional Israeli dish, blah-blah-blah-blah. We wanted the world to know that this is not true," Mr Abboud says in the film.
Israeli director Oren Rosenfeld says he hopes the documentary gives audiences some understanding of the emotions that hummus can evoke, but in a light-hearted manner.
"I mean it's just food, let's try and agree this a friendly competition about food," he told Sky News. "I hope that in the future our conflict with Lebanon will be about hummus and falafel rather than gas and borders."
The film also follows three Israeli hummus makers from very different backgrounds - Suheila Al Hindi, a Muslim woman from Accre, Jalil Dabit, a Christian man from Ramle and Eliyahu Shmueli, an ultra-orthodox Jew from Yokne'am.
Each describes how hummus is a way of life.
The film tries to draw out the underlying obsession they hold in common, although there is no attempt to argue the shared love of hummus is either a route to peace, or a realistic basis for better coexistence.
Indeed, speaking to Sky News after the premiere of the film, Jalil Dabit explained how in a region where symbols of identity and ownership are so contested, it's little surprise hummus is such a charged topic.
"In Lebanon and Palestine, they are angry with Israel. They say 'they took the land, they took the food and now they don't just take the food, but say it's their food', so that's what the problem is in the West Bank or in Gaza... but for me I don't think about this - I'm selling hummus, I'm selling food, I'm selling something people want to eat, and it's good," he said.
The documentary is due to be shown at film festivals around the world in 2016.
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