Sriracha movie released as Sriracha shortage looms

The world's supply of the red gold known as Sriracha may be in danger, the beloved condiment dubbed "rooster sauce" is now the subject of its own documentary.

Filmmaker Griffin Hammond released his documentary, Sriracha Wednesday online, and his timing couldn't be better.

Huy Fong Foods CEO David Tran has opened the doors of his factory in Irwindale, Calif. -- the same factory that was ordered partially shut down in November and halted shipments Thursday over concerns from the spicy smell causing health problems for the neighbors.

“I like the documentary,” Tran said. “Griffin visited our company and went into deeper detail about our operations. I was not going to let Griffin do it in the beginning, but now the Sriracha fans and friends can see our operations. I heard someone say that it is more difficult to visit Huy Fong than the Pentagon.”

Hammond funded the making of the documentary through a Kickstarter campaign, asking for just $5,000 but raking in $21,000. That kind of enthusiasm for Tran's products is what Hammond says inspired the documentary in the first place.

"The story got bigger than I thought it would be,” Hammond said. “In some ways, I imagined this would be kind of this wacky, silly documentary about the fans and the kind of cult phenomenon of Sriracha, but then I found there are these really human stories there.”

Sriracha is available on Vimeo for $5 a view.

[LA Daily News]