19 – 22 March 2015
Various times and venues
Free
The Liverpool-grown Food For Real Film Festival – the only festival of its kind in the UK – returns for its third edition this year.
Curated by socially-engaged, creative food enterprise Squash Nutrition, the festival seeks to explore the environmental, cultural and political impacts of the foods we grow, eat, waste and share in a fun and accessible way.
Spread across four days, the festival will see cinemas, eateries, gardens and even the city’s streets play host to an interesting and eclectic programme of over 30 food-related films, documentaries, animations and shorts accompanied by a host of talks, hands-on activities, workshops and tastings for all the family.
Festival highlights and ones to watch include:
- Thursday 19 March – A focus on Salt and Sugar includes make your own sugar free treats and food preservation workshops at John Archer Hall; documentary screenings including Fed Up, a chilling tale of hidden sugar; Love Lane Lives, looking at the impact of the closure of a Tate & Lyle refinery; and My Name is Salt, a beautifully shot look at salt harvesting, at cinemas FACT and Odeon at Liverpool ONE. The programme also includes a screening of cult sci-fi film Soylent Green at Unit 51, a macabre exploration of a futuristic food shortage; and a Q & A with world authority on food waste Tristram Stewart at Odeon at Liverpool ONE.
- Friday 20 March – Events focus on Food and Mind and includes a talk about tiffin culture at street food restaurant Mowgli; Spring planting workshop at Grapes Community Garden; and a day of short films from around the world at John Archer Hall, Toxeth; workshops exploring emotional connections to food and mask making at FACT; plus screenings of acclaimed Italian feature film The Four Times. Friday also sees the UK Premiere of Breastmilk The Movie, a documentary film about all aspects of breastfeeding at the Odeon at Liverpool ONE, as well as a celebration of the Equinox at Constellations, with Asian inspired food and the UK Premiere of Taiwanese culinary rom-com The Movable Feast.
- Saturday 21 March – Celebrate the Spring Equinox with a day of events around Windsor Street in Toxteth’s Liverpool 8. Breakfast at dawn in the open air, forage for Spring shoots with environmentalist Gemma Jones, and seed-pod headdress making. Try a spot of Disco-Scouse at Fire Fit Hub, while at John Archer Hall there is a talk discussing the upcoming community hub Toxteth Food Central, with artist Nina Edge sharing ideas over on the proposed site at Windsor Street. The day ends with a Garden Party at Grapes Community Food Garden, featuring the Beatlife drummers and Hope Street Harmonies choir, plus Solardome Cinema screens a series of food shorts.
- Sunday 22 March – Enjoy a day of family fun including a screening of Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory at the Odeon at Liverpool ONE; a talk on the ancient craft of salt-making at The Pen Factory, and a Make and Grow seasonal produce market at Constellations featuring breastfeeding friendly areas, weaning workshops and finger puppet making. The day also features a series of short film screenings in the pop up cinema from the Meet My World global film campaign. The final screening, the wonderful The Lunchbox at the Brink, is   followed by Food for Real’s first film awards – for Best Film and People’s Choice!
For booking information and full listings:  www.foodforreal.co.uk / www.facebook.com/FoodForRealFilmFestival / @FoodforRealFest
All Food For Real Film Festival events are FREE to attend, but booking is essential. Festival-goers are invited to make a donation when booking tickets online. Funds will go towards staging the festival and growing the event for future years.