Member Article

Tasty treats for Liverpool at Film Food Festival

The Liverpool Food For Real Film Festival – the only festival of its kind in the UK – is to return for a second annual outing from 21-24 November 2013.

Curated by social food enterprise Squash Nutrition, the festival seeks to explore the environmental, cultural and political impacts of the foods we grow, eat, waste and share. This year, the focus is on Food and Family.

Over four days, cinemas, eateries, gardens and the city’s streets will play host to a programme of over 30 food-related films - documentaries, animations and shorts - accompanied by talks, hands-on activities and tastings for all the family. All events at the Food For Real Film Festival events are free to attend.

Highlights of this year’s festival include a discussion on supermarkets with food journalist Joanna Blythman, a chance to watch locally made animations alongside international food features, a challenge to ‘take a walk on the wild-food side’ with an autumn forage and the opportunity to bake bread and spread it with Toxteth honey.

Thursday 21st November events include: make your own Beiruty Breakfast workshop at Bakchich, Bold St, documentaries about Cambodian, Burkinabe, British and Indian fishers and farmers at John Archer Hall, Fact and Odeon Liverpool One, the L8 Honey Night Market plus screenings of The Party and The Guests, a subversive Czech new wave feature on feasting and More Than Honey, a beautiful study of honey-bees at the Odeon. Thursday also sees the UK Premiere of Growing Cities, a documentary film about urban farming in America, at FACT.

Friday 22nd November: workshops including Plant a Pocket Orchard at The Village Farm Hub in Stockbridge Village, Outsider Cooking (on an open fire) at the Grapes Community Garden, Sweet Enough exploring sugar-free treats at John Archer Hall, a screening of Soul Food Junkies at Toxteth Library, the Double Dutch film programme at Unit 51/Baltic Creative curated by Amsterdam’s Food Film Festival plus Estomago: A Gastronomic Story, a Brazilian feature on prison food and love, screened at The Brink.

Saturday 23rd November – foraging and funghi films at FACT followed by a late autumn wild food walk, a Seed Art workshop with Liverpool Art Prize winner Tabitha Moses at John Archer Hall, more soul food explorations with a family cooking workshop and Soulfood film screening also at John Archer Hall, a screening of the favourite family tale James and the Giant Peach at The Odeon and then later explore your thoughts on supermarkets with respected food journalist Joanna Blythman at the panel discussion named ‘Supermarkets – A Local Inconvenience?’ at Toxteth Library.

Sunday 24th November – early risers can learn to make a loaf at Homebaked in Anfield followed by a Community Breakfast with short films, there’s a screening of Fantastic Mr Fox at The Odeon and new Toxteth food animations, an afternoon of Bollywood food and film at Mayur Indian restaurant, and finally The Real Dirt on Farmer John a documentary film telling the epic tale of a maverick mid-Western farmer, at The Brink.

Throughout the festival the Seed-Pod mobile street food cinema – a converted vintage electric milk-float - will be cruising the city streets at a top speed of 15mph.

Clare Owens of Squash Nutrition said: “We are really excited about the tasty new programme of food-focussed films and activities this year’s Food for Real festival has on offer.

This year it’s all about Food and Family so bring your kin and friends to take your seats at the table, to watch, discuss and savour fresh ideas around the stuff that connects us all – food. There’s a film or activity for every member of the family“

Food For Real Film Festival is funded by Liverpool City Council, Liverpool NHS, Big Lottery Local Food and Awards for All.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .