The Victoria Film Festival (VFF) started their week of movies with a series of food-related shorts that I couldn’t resist going to see. I could have paid to participate in the Feast and Film program, where movie-goers are treated to a meal at Spinnakers (that I’ve reviewed a few years ago) and a movie, Azul Intangible, a film about oceanic life in the northwestern part of Mexico. Fortunately, I had the willpower because I do need to start saving my money.
Tag Archives: Victoria Film Festival
Ferris Oyster Bar’s Day Off
E: Late Saturday evening was ablaze with several fun-filled activities for James and I. Amazingly, I dragged him out from work and into downtown Victoria for two after-parties. It was the second day of the Victoria Film Festival, and it was far better than I had imagined.
After a busy day, I waited for James at Absolute Underground’s Lloyd the Conqueror screening pre-party shin-dig ….
J: And I was fashionably late as usual. I was eager to mingle with some very talented and creative people; I hadn’t done so since Victoria’s Celebration of the Body. I prefer a good social party over a booze-up any day. Some of us are incapable of drinking pints of beer while standing on our head unlike my writing partner.
[Victoria Film Festival ’12] Food-related Movies made for Thought
Last year, I reviewed one food related film that was playing during the Victoria Film Festival. This year, there were more! I could have gone to them all but what stopped me was what something more intriguing: I had to decide between drama or documentary, and that was a tough one. I chose the latter because of the environmental messages being delivered.
The impact food wastage has on a global scale (and shortage too) is very serious, and I thought the documentary, Taste the Waste, made many important points that are also applicable in North America too. This movie primarily focuses in on the European Union. Just because one item in a packaged unit going to market looks like a mutant, it really should not be disposed of. That would put the rest of the good products in that unit to waste. With moldy products, that makes sense.
[Victoria Film Festival ’11] The Chef of the South Polar, A Movie Review
It’s very rare when I get a chance to write about my interest in film on this blog. When there’s a foodie connection, I just knew I had to write about it. That’s assuming I can squeeze into a jam-packed theatre.
I can’t say I was impressed with the venue, the Empire Theatre (formerly known as Capitol 6) that the Victoria Film Festival uses. The individual movie screening rooms felt small. And after seeing another film at the Odeon half a block away, if this movie was shown there, they would’ve accommodated the dozen or so stragglers who wanted to see the film, but were denied due to the film being sold out.
Thankfully, my patience won out and I managed to see this movie, and it certainly had me hungry at the end! The acting is very sublime and the subtitled translation is good. What I particularly enjoyed about this movie is its enduring quality: the look at the human condition of being torn away from civilization was at the heart of this film. When the lifeline is only a phone call away, just how many people really want to pay $8 a minute just to talk with loved ones, or even to the operator at the opposite end of the line.