Devour! The Food Film Fest explores newcomers’ impact on food scene

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Toronto may have the Toronto International Film Festival but Nova Scotia has Devour! The Food Film Fest, taking place Oct. 23 to 27 this year.

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For the past 14 years, some of the finest international culinary-based films are shown — not to mention the arrival of heavy-duty chef and entertainment talent — in the tiny town of Wolfville for a week of jam-packed movies, meals and entertainment.

Every year a new theme is explored and this year Devour! The Food Film Fest focuses on newcomers to Canada, with festival organizers bringing together world-class change-makers to examine the new immigrants’ roles in food culture and the country’s progress in ethical eating. It’s an astonishing experience and one that stays with the visitor for years to come.

“We have an explosive program this year that explores immigrants’ impact on our evolving food scene and our progress in ethical eating,” says Lia Rinaldo, the fest’s managing director whose career in the film industry spans 30 years, and whose passion for food culture makes her a cornerstone of the event.

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“You can be assured this year’s festival is gritty, raw and packs a punch. This year we have 61 events, 51 films, 26 screenings, an Ethical Eating celebrity chef dinner based on the film Food, Inc. 2, our signature Chefs & Shorts Gala, three-panel discussions, 14 workshops, and so much more.”

Michael Howell, founder and director of Devour! and a chef in his own right, said the 2024 festival “explores how the new Canadians are changing the faces of food and hospitality, and how the chefs and producers are making a global impact.

On hand will be “celebrity immigrant chefs Angel Ramirez Betancourt, one of the world’s top pastry chefs, Winnie Chen from the award-winning Fu’s Repair Shop in Edmonton, and Fil Buchino, sustainable olive oil expert,” along with a slew of other award-winning chefs to talk about the evolving food industry, he says, adding, “The festival will be spotlighting Nova Scotian female immigrants with small food businesses as well.”

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Rinaldo says the opening gala film La Cocina starring Raul Briones and Rooney Mara “explores the struggles and triumphs of the kitchen staff in a busy NYC restaurant where cultures collide. The Hollywood Reporter describes it as ‘The Bear on Cocaine with a Red Bull chaser.’”

Howell also made note of celebrity filmmaker Trudie Style and her role in this year’s festival: “When I saw Trudie’s film Posso Entrare? An Ode to Naples I fell in love with this beautiful documentary where the people of Naples tell their story, revealing a city of both generosity and cruelty. I had been chasing it since February but hadn’t heard back and had given up hope … what we didn’t know is that Trudie and her husband Sting have a soft spot for Nova Scotia and were thrilled to join us for the festival.”

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For more than 25 years, Style’s productions “championed first-time writing and directing talent, producing, among others, award-winning films such as Guy Ritchie’s first two movies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch,” said Howell, adding that Posso Entrare? (which means May I Enter in Italian) An Ode To Naples was recently awarded Italy’s prestigious Globo d’Oro for Best Documentary and Documentary of the Year awards at the Capri and Ischia Film Festivals.

Along with the films, he says, “We are also thrilled to have game-changing chefs including Angel Ramirez Betancourt, one of the world’s top ten pastry chefs, and Nova Scotian chefs Timothy Charles, executive chef of Fogo Island Inn, which just received Three Key recognition from the Michelin Guide, and Seadon Shouse, executive chef at Halifax Hoboken at the W Hotel, NYC and Coast Kitchen in California.”

Howell says there are other aspects of the festival including the famous Devour! Chowder Smackdown, the Le Tour de l’Acadie (bike ride), the Great Devour! Community Chicken Supper, supporting regional food banks as well as some of the finest celebrity sightings in the culinary world.

Regardless if you are a film aficionado, a culinary groupie or someone who just wants to enjoy a week of delicious ambience, the organizers say “there is something for everyone.”

Check out devourfest.com for more details.

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