Boulder, get ready to get hopped-up on cinema.
The Flatirons Food Film Festival is here to quench your thirst for great film, craft beer, and tasty food.
Now in its second year, the festival–Oct. 16 through 19–presents a pairing of film and food that is tailor-made for us Boulderites, the good folk who make this town one of the nation’s foodiest year after year. 
And, this year, craft beer is on tap, too.
In fact, the festival’s kick-off feature film, Craft, highlights breweries, including two Fort Collins favorites, Odell Brewing and Funkwerks.
A feast for your eyes, ears & buds
Headliner films also spotlight restaurant life, seed banks, urban farms, and culinary opera. For icing on the cake, the multi-day cinematic feast serves up real-life imbibing events, such as cooking demos, farm tours, food celebrations, and an encounter with liquid nitrogen.
What’s not to love?
Founder, Julia Joun, a food/film aficionado, thought the same when she cooked-up the idea.
Technical writer by day, and longtime food connoisseur and “serious canner” by passion—her love of food got started during childhood in Honolulu. Noting the influence of the many Asian ethnicities in Hawaii, Julia found, “What they all seemed to have in common was a general obsession with food. . .People are really into ‘ono’ (delicious) food in whatever form it takes.”
After moving to Boulder in 1990 and volunteering for the CU International Film Series, Julia’s love of food and film merged into one, and the Flatiron’s Food Film Festival was born in 2013.
All films are at Muenzinger Auditorium, CU-Boulder campus.
On the menu
Friday, October 17
Craft, 7: 30 pm — followed by a panel discussion
Filmmaker Craig Noble chronicles the craft beer revolution at North American breweries, including Odell Brewing and Funkwerks in Ft. Collins.
Introductory speaker: Bryan Selders, head brewer of Post Brewing Company, Lafayette. Panelists: Bryan Selders, Dan Rabin, award-winning journalist and author of Colorado Breweries Guidebook; Eric Wallace, co-founder of Indian Peaks Brewing Company; and panel moderator, Julia Herz, program director for the Brewers Association, BJCP beer judge, and certified cicerone®.
Movie short: The Art and Science of Beer (plays before Craft)
Saturday, October 18
Trattoria is a dramedy set in the San Francisco restaurant world about a workaholic chef and his estranged son who must reconnect and heal their past through cooking. The film includes interviews with real chefs from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Introductory speaker: Dave Query, Founder of the Big Red F Restaurant Group
Movie short: Lil’s Meatballs (plays before Trattoria)
This documentary looks at the crucial role that seed banks must play to prevent famine due to climate change, and focuses on global travel and issues encountered by an executive director of an international seed bank.
Introductory speaker: Gayle Volk, plant physiologist at the USDA-ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, Fort Collins
Movie short: Meltdown (plays before Seeds of Time)
Sunday, October 19
Growing Cities, 3 pm — followed by a panel discussion
A documentary film that examines the role of the burgeoning urban farming movement in the US, focusing on its potential to revitalize cities and improve the quality of our food.
Introductory speaker: Coby Gould, executive director of The GrowHaus, Denver. Panelists: Coby Gould, Joseph Teipel, co-founder and operations director at Re:Vision, Shannon Spurlock, community initiatives coordinator at Denver Urban Gardens, and Lauren Richardson, master gardener and greenhouse manager at Boulder’s Growing Gardens. Moderator is Rusty Collins, director of CSU-Denver Extension office.
Movie short: Tea for Two (plays before Growing Cities)
This documentary immerses viewers in the creation of a 12-course multimedia culinary opera in Barcelona involving a world-renowned restaurant, musicians, poets, painters, composers, singers, and visual artists. Experimental film, fiction, and animation present a visual and sensual tour de force.
Remarks: Alex Figura, Lower48 Kitchen, worked at the featured restaurant during filming
Introductory speaker: Chef Ian Kleinman
Movie short: 10 Things We Love About Italy (plays before El Somni)
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Wednesday, October 15, 7 pm — BRU Ales and Eats beer-pairing dinner at BRU
Thursday, Oct. 16, 7 pm — Craft Beer Celebration at Sterling-Rice Group, beer/aria by Opera on Tap Colorado
Friday, Oct. 17, 5 pm — Roundhouse Spirits cocktail hour with James Lee of Bitter Bar, two signature festival cocktails, and nibbles from Peggy Markel’s Culinary Adventure
Friday, Oct. 17 — After party for “Craft” at West Flanders Brewing immediately following Craft panel, no charge
Saturday, Oct. 18, 11 am — Work/life balance restaurant industry panel discussion and lunch at Jax Fish House
Sunday, Oct. 19, 10:30 am — 63rd Street Farm tour, no charge
Sunday, Oct. 19, 11:45 am — Farm-to-Table lunch feast at Bramble and Hare, featuring Chef Eric Skokan
SO GO
For movie tickets, click here.
For information about events and to make reservations, click here.
Bon Appetit!
