Food and Film Fun. . .

Kudos to Squash Nutrition, a food and educational collective, that was the force behind Liverpool's inaugural Food For Real Film Festival.  Combining two of my favourite things and hosting the food filled films at a variety of venues around the city was a brilliant idea. And did I mention that all the films were screened for FREE?????  I really liked the programme too which included a recipe for a hearty lentil soup and even a pattern to knit a boob (in support of breast feeding).

I managed to get out to three events over the five day festival.  I've seen I Am Love twice before, but I never get tired of seeing Tilda Swinton on the big screen, especially in the clothes and stylish interiors of this film.  This is a lush and sexy melodrama where a bowl of soup plays a very prominent and pivotal role in the plot.

The film was shown at FACT but not in their usual theatres.  Instead, I was directed to The Box, a very cozy and very purple viewing room on the ground floor.

This was also the venue for the showing of Big Night at 10:30 am on Saturday.  Why don't more theatres show movies in the morning?  This came with complimentary Italian coffee and yummy pastries.  So civilised.

Lastly I headed out to Camp and Furnace, a warehouse turned bar/restaurant/space of all trades. It's located just a ten minute walk from downtown in an area that reminds me very much of Toronto's Distillery District before all the condos started going up.  The pairing this time was of the Japanese film Tampopo about a widow running a noodle restaurant and the travelling truck driver who tries to help  improve her cooking. It was a very odd comedy interspersed with various homages not only to food, but French movies and spaghetti westerns.  Sitting amidst picnic benches and parked caravans, there was something rather surreal but comforting too about slurping noodles and broth while watching a movie.

I was surprised that most of the events were not full, but given that this was the first year, I'm sure word of mouth will improve future attendance.  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what the organizers come up with next year.