Devour! The Food Film Fest (formerly the Slow Motion Food Film Fest) is a Canadian

Film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

dedicated to films about food and wine culture. The five-day festival takes place annually in late fall in the

Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination d ...

Kings County, Nova Scotia Kings County is a county in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 62,914 in the 2021 Census, Kings County is the third most populous county in the province. It is located in central Nova Sco ...

. In 2020 organizers mounted a hybrid in-person and streamed festival due to Covid-19. Attendance was 1800 in person and 1600 virtual guests. Opening night celebrity host was "Phil Rosenthal" from the "Netflix" hit "Somebody Feed Phil"

Festival Dates for 2021 (an expanded hybrid festival) are October 19–24, 2021.

History

The festival was founded in 2009 by Slow Food Nova Scotia. The first festival took place at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville, screening 11 retrospective films with tickets sales of approximately 1,000. In 2011, 30 new films from around the world were screened, with ticket sales of about 2,000. Film director

Robert Kenner Robert Kenner is an American film and television director, producer, and writer. Kenner is best known for directing the film ''Food, Inc''. as well as the films, '' Command and Control'', '' Merchants of Doubt'', and ''When Strangers Click''. ...

(''Food, Inc.'') and Hollywood director-writer-actor

Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor and television director. Priestly starred as virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000). His other television roles in ...

both participated in various capacities and now serve as Honorary Advisory Board Members. In early 2017, Canadian food writer Lucy Waverman and television food celebrity Bob Blumer also joined the Advisory Board. In 2013, the event was re-branded to Devour! The Food Film Fest. 4,000 attendees took in 70 new food films from around the world, an opening night reception and gala film with special guests, a food truck rally, experiential wine and cheese tours, three five-course meals based on the films, a cocktail pop-up party, a cinematic dine-around brunch at the Wolfville Farmers Market, an awards showcase with a 15-part dessert constructed by culinary students and eight industry workshops. In 2014, attendance increased to 6,120. The program involved of about thirty Chefs, many visiting filmmakers and industry guests, 14 workshops, 13 tasting tours, more than a dozen dinners, parties & events and over 50 new food and wine films from around the world. A number of local Acadian dishes were included. The event was opened by Anthony Bourdain, curating his favourite food film. Festival organizers were later presented with the Gary MacDonald Culinary Ambassador of the Year Award at the Taste of Nova Scotia Awards ceremony. Taking home the prestigious honour of the Gary MacDonald Culinary Ambassador of the Year Award, and were included on the Chronicle Herald's 2014 Arts & Life Honour Roll. The fifth edition of Devour! The Food Film Fest took place in November, 2015. It was opened by actor

Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. Pullman made his film debut i ...

. The sixth edition of Devour took place November 2–6, 2016. It was opened by Chef Dominique Crenn and featured a theme celebrating the Power of Women in Gastronomy In 2017 the Festival moved to a date earlier in October (25-29th). The 7th addition of Devour was opened by iconic Canadian actor

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (July 12, 1930 – February 25, 2023) was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift ...

. Pinsent curated the opening night film The Hundred Foot Journey. The festival also hosted a special screening of

Jacques Pepin Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

: The Art of Craft by Director Peter Stein. Pepin was in attendance and provided insight into his long career. Notable Canadian Chef

Michael Smith (chef) Michael Dixon Smith is an American-born Canadian chef and cookbook writer. He has hosted ''The Inn Chef'', ''Chef at Home'', and judged on ''Chopped: Canada'' on the Food Network (Canada), Canadian Food Network. Smith is Prince Edward Island's ...

led a team of Canadian chefs for the Saturday evening Spotlight Gala that followed the World premiere of Canadian film ''Grand Cru'' with the director David Eng and star winemaker Pascal Marchand in attendance. The 8th edition of the festival occurred October 23–28, 2018.

Sam Kass Samuel David Kass (born 1980) is an American political advisor, chef, and news personality, who served as President Barack Obama's Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy, executive director for First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campai ...

, former chef to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, was the opening night curator. In 2018, 75 Films were screened, with more than 100 events in total. The Festival added events in

Kentville, Nova Scotia Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929. History Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis Riv ...

and in 2019 will add events in

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Nova Scotia Highway 101, Highway 101. The community has a history d ...

The 9th edition of the festival took place from October 22–27, 2019. Chef

Lidia Bastianich Lidia Giuliana Matticchio Bastianich (; born February 21, 1947) is an Italian-American celebrity chef, television host, author, and restaurateur. Specializing in Italian and Italian-American cuisine, Bastianich has been a regular contributor to ...

was the guest curator. Actor

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American actor who has played over 150 roles across film, television, and theater. He is best known for portraying Francis Fratelli in '' The Goonies'' (1985), Captain Conrad Howard in th ...

, star of the film ''

From the Vine ''From the Vine'' is a 2019 Canadian drama film, directed by Sean Cisterna.Barry Hertz, "From the Vine is worth sipping, if only for Joe Pantoliano's drunk-on-life performance". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 10, 2020. Based on the novel ''Finding M ...

'' attended on opening night along with director

Sean Cisterna Sean Cisterna is a Canadian film director and producer from Orillia, Ontario, most noted for his 2019 film ''From the Vine''.Barry Hertz, "From the Vine is worth sipping, if only for Joe Pantoliano's drunk-on-life performance". ''The Globe and Mail ...

. More than 80 films from around the world were screened, with a special focus on

Italian cinema The cinema of Italy (, ) comprises the films made within Italy or by List of Italian film directors, Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and ...

and

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp. 101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Ancient Roman cuisine, Roman times, and later spread ...

. The 10th Anniversary of the festival took place on October 20–25, 2020 in a hybrid online and in-person format. The festival also hosts or produces satellite events throughout the year in Osoyoos, BC,

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

, at the

Sonoma International Film Festival Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization, founded in 1997, headquartered in Sonoma, California. History Founded in 1997 by friends Carolyn Stolman and Jerry Seltzer, the Sonoma International Film Festi ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

Long Beach, New York Long Beach is an oceanfront city in Nassau County, New York, United States. It takes up a central section of the Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the 2020 ...

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

at the Vero Beach Wine and Film Festival, the

Jasper Park Lodge The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, formerly and commonly known as Jasper Park Lodge, is a 442-room hotel on a site along Lac Beauvert in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. The hotel was established in 1921 by Canadian National Railway and is o ...

and more.

References

{{reflist

External links

*http://www.devourfest.com Film festivals in Nova Scotia Tourist attractions in Kings County, Nova Scotia Film festivals established in 2009 2009 establishments in Nova Scotia