In the style of fusion cooking, blending flavours from different corners of the culinary universe, Wolfville-based Devour! The Food Film Fest is adding some new online ingredients to its 10th year of programming, dubbed Devour 9.5 due to 2020’s travel restrictions and smaller in-person gatherings.
Joining previously-announced headliner Phil Rosenthal (Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil), and a Valley Drive-In Theatre screening of the Disney/Pixar favourite Ratatouille, the five-day festival has announced a slate of 44 films — 19 features and 25 shorts — from Oct. 21 to 25.
“This reimagined festival makes it possible for us to bring Devour! to an even wider audience than before,” says Lia Rinaldo, managing director of Devour! in the lineup announcement.
“We hope that this year’s hybrid format helps us welcome a new, expanded fanbase to Atlantic Canada in the future.”
Devour! feature film highlights include Bread in the Bones by Halifax documentarian Darrell Varga; Free Way, a family portrait of Michelin-starred chefs Raul Balam and his mother, Carme Ruscalleda; and The Forum, a look behind the closed doors of the World Economic Forum.
Dramatic features include Games People Play, about a surprise birthday party at a seaside villa that doesn’t go as planned and Feast of the Seven Fishes, in which a working-class Italian family’s annual Christmas Eve dinner takes a turn when a son brings home a new upper-crust girlfriend.
There will also be a Chefs & Shorts Gala at the Valley Drive-In, with gourmet treats to match each of the six films, which include Brothers, based on the story of Peace By Chocolate founder Tareq Hadhad.
Live and pre-recorded workshops, hosted in-person and digitally, include Flavorbombs with cookbook author Bob Blumer and Call Me Fitz star Jason Priestly, East Coast Pantry Party with Masterchef Canada winner Jennifer Crawford, Virtual Culinary Workshop with master chef Jacques Pepin and Simple Thai from Pai with Food Network judge and Devour! favourite Chef Nuit Regular.
There will also be in-person workshops with chefs Craig Flinn and Renee Lavallee, and a virtual session with Chef Ned Bell.
Special festival events include the Beyond Terroir walking workshop, hosted by Benjamin Bridge winery in partnership with Glooscap First Nation, the Great Devour! Community Dinner, the Mayors’ Bike Ride for Devour! and a range of youth and student programming. All of these, and other in-person activities, will observe proper health safety protocols and physical distancing.
Full program and ticket information become available on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at devourfest.com.
