A new annual film festival that recognised the major contribution that food and drink has played in the history of cinema launched for four nights from 29th January 2018. The inaugural Food Film Festival was presented under the auspices of the British Museum of Food, which was created by Bompas & Parr and which formally launches in 2018.
The festival was launched in association with Mondrian London and Curzon Cinemas, which operates a 56-seat cinema in the hotel’s basement.
The Food Film Festival seeks to celebrate food and drink not just as a walk-on part, bit player or prop in many of cinema’s most iconic scenes, but as a major headline star or scene-stealer worthy of critical acclaim. This will be the first year that the festival runs and it will be an annual celebration.
From films solely focused on food and drink to iconic scenes where food is crucial to plotline and narrative, to movies where film stars interact with food as an integral part of narrative or characterisation, the festival shines a light on food’s crucial, and often quirky, role in cinematic mythology.
The 2018 Food Film Festival presented two feature films per day accompanied by a mini-season of short films produced by Bompas & Parr, alongside themed culinary talks, workshops and events.
The choice of films were based on the creative approach of four guest curators: Guardian restaurant critic Grace Dent; BAFTA nominated director Jamie Jay Johnson (working with sketch show star Seb Cardinal from television show Cardinal Burns); acclaimed novelist and psycho-gourmet blogger Geoff Nicholson, and Sam Bompas, founder of Bompas & Parr.
Every year, the festival will also act as a call-to-action for film-makers and creatives to showcase their own food-inspired works in tribute to the curated collection being screened. Winners of an open-call competition for short films will earn a place on the festival programme and be celebrated in the exhibition and ancillary features hosted by Bompas & Parr.
The Food Film Festival is the latest in a line of satellite activations that fall under the auspices of the British Museum of Food, which launched in 2015 as a temporary installation at Borough Market and ran for three months.
Sam Bompas, director of Bompas & Parr, said: “From the fridge scene in 9½ Weeks to the animated gluttony of Spirited Away, the glorious geekery of Sideways, and Brad Pitt eating in just about every scene of every film he’s ever been in, it’s clear food is never very far from film, but it’s never been truly celebrated in its own right.
“The festival is designed to recognise food and drink as the under-appreciated star billing that runs right through the backbone of cinema. That this recognition comes under the umbrella of the British Museum of Food strikes exactly the right chord in terms of engaging the public and helping them appreciate food from a new angle that the museum will continue to convey.”
Simon Gilkes, Marketing Director for Mondrian London, said: “Hungry, cinema-going Londoners will appreciate this festival as we bring these food-related films to life. We’re delighted to be part of establishing the British Museum of Food.”
SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
The Food Film Festival Short Film competition championed not only feature-length movies but artistic and interpretive films involving food and drink. This year’s winners were be awarded prizes courtesy of Mondrian London, Brown-Forman and Phaidon and will be announced at the wrap party on the final night of the festival.
Winner
-“Cooking with your Mouth” by Nathan Ceddia
Runner Up
-“Daily Fetish” by Benedetta Martino
Shortlist
- “Wish You Were Here” by JJ, Andrea, Julii & Michelle
- “BN22” by Jonah Hall (Bow)
- “Trifle” by Natalie Sharp and Ross Blake
- “Grand Dishes: Yiayia” by Anastasia Miari and Iska Lupton
Commended
- “Love Birds” by BigBouche
- “Broke” by Ed Gill