Toronto may have the big fall film festival, but it doesn’t have one very important thing—a really good chili dog. Luckily, Charleston’s The Food Film Festival has that covered.
The Food Film Festival is the only film festival in the world that lets guests taste what they see on the screen. Each film that plays during the three-day event has been assigned a chef or mixologist tasked with creating the perfect tie-in snack. So if you’re watching the short film Gin Tonic Black, expect to have one of the classic cocktails to sip on, and if you’re on-hand for the cinematic exploration of Summerville, S.C.’s iconic delicacy, the Frank Cuda hot dog, which is topped with chili, cheese, blue cheese slaw, bacon, and crispy onions, expect to be chowing down on one while you watch. It’s like dinner and a movie rolled into one, making it a downright genius date.
The Food Film Festival, established by Travel Channel host and hamburger expert George Motz, will return to Charleston for its third year November 11th through the 13th. This year, the fun feast kicks off with the world premiere of the Charleston episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, in which the noted food adventurer travels through Charleston with chef Sean Brock (of Husk) as his guide and Bill Murray as his dining companion.
Other highlights of the lineup include Cultured Craft Beer, a short about the growing brewery industry in South Carolina, the Charleston premiere of Growing Local: Seeding a Dream about a young farm family, a recipe film about making a gluten-free version of that Southern favorite treat Moon Pies, and the U.S. premiere of Sollo, which dives into the creative world of “caviar chef” Diego Gallegos.
The festival isn’t just for foodies, though. It’s also competitive program that will hand out awards like Best Feature, Best Short, Best Super-Short, Best Food Porn, Food Filmmaker of the Year, and the Audience Choice Award to garnish any filmmakers resume.
Tickets to the Food Film Festival go on sale later in September. Check out the trailer for this year’s festival and get ready to head to Charleston:
Can’t make it to South Carolina? The festival will be held in New York City from October 22-25, 2015 with 30 food films, including eight world premieres and seven New York City premieres spread out over four days.
For more information, visit thefoodfilmfestival.com.
