Seoul International Food Film Festival

UPDATE

See the bottom of the post for a list of the films being shown with English subtitles! Plus the festival will be offering “whispering translations” for all of their “Delicious Talks”!

If you’re hungry for some foodie movies, then we’ve got good news for you! Thursday 9th July sees the start of a four day culinary and cinematic extravaganza in the form of the Seoul International Food Film Festival (SIFF). Running till Sunday 12th July at the Artnine Cinema in Isu, the festival promises an incredible selection of food themed flicks with some special screenings that will be a feast for the eyes and the belly.

Food And Film

Kicking things off on Thursday night is Kawase Naomi’s An: Sweet Red Bean Paste – a Japanese, French and German collaboration that tells the tale of an older lady who brings her secret recipe to a local bakery, and charms the owner and customers with her culinary magic. Featured in the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival it promises to be a sweet start to the first ever SIFF. Encore screenings on Friday and Sunday include guest visits from the director and Patissier Park Chan-hoe respectively.

The festival proper starts off on Friday and you should watch out for a special screening of the Academy Award winning culinary masterpiece Babette’s Feast including a guest visit by Hong Suk-chun (tv star and owner of numerous restaurants in Itaewon). A Danish tale of one woman who decides to pay back the kindness of others with a special dinner, this classic film should not be missed.

Friday also marks the start of three special evenings of “Midsummer Night’s Flavors” where food and films are joined together. Friday’s “Sweet Night” offers the French and Belgian film Les Emotifs Anonymes (Romantics Anonymous) paired with a delicious dessert.

Saturday brings a screening of Chasing Taste, a romantic comedy about a New York City food critic whose nose and tongue fail him after a freak accident, as part of “Chicken & Beer Night”. No prizes for guessing what kind of food will be served!

And on Sunday “One Fine Night” will offer some “Tasty Short Films” from France, Japan, Peru, Italy and Korea alongside “One Fine Box” of homemade snacks.

Each of the special food and film screenings can be snapped up for 10,000 won per ticket, but if eating during screenings is not for you then there’s plenty more on offer as part of the festival.

Unmissable Movies

Films to watch out for include:

Kings Of Pastry: the 2009 documentary from D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus that focuses on one of the most prestigious cooking competitions in France – where sixteen pastry chefs go head to head to be crowned the best of the best.

A Film About Coffee: Documentary maker Brandon Loper examines what “speciality” coffee really is, taking us around the world to discover what it takes to make the best cup possible.

Zone Pro Site – The Moveable Feast: A Taiwanese tale of a family restaurant struggling to get by until a master chef steps in and changes everything.

To top it all off you can enjoy a triple bill on Saturday night under the heading “Classic Recipe in Midnight” – Tampopo, Like Water For Chocolate and The Chinese Feast will begin screening from 11.00pm and carry on through till the early hours of Sunday morning.

There’s so much packed into the four days of SIFF with plenty of guest visits and special screenings to entertain every epicurean. A full screening schedule can be found here and tickets can be booked and tickets can be purchased through Megabox.