Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming, films on October 20, 2008 at 8:02 am

Every year, the Planet in Focus film festival includes a number of films about food, but this year 15 titles have been selected as part of a series entitled Food: The Big Picture. Running from October 22nd to 26th, the series looks at food from every angle.

On October 23rd, Norman Lofts’ film Michael Schmidt: Organic Hero or Bioterrorist (Canada, 2008) launches the spotlight program, followed by a panel discussion - In the Name of the Public Good? Food Policy & Food Security in Ontario. The International and Canadian Eco-Hero Awards will also be given out that evening. Slow food pioneer and Italian author Carlo Petrini will be awarded the International Eco-Hero Award; author and long-time sustainable food policy advocate Wayne Roberts will be given the Canadian Eco-Hero Award.

On Friday, October 24th, food films dominate the evening at two screening locations. The Beggars in Addis Ababa (Denmark 2007) runs at 9pm at Innis Town Hall. Jakob Gottschau's documentary poignantly personalizes the stories of millions facing hunger and displacement in the developing world. At 7pm, Tableland (Canada, 2007), a film about sustainable small-scale artisanal food producers, screens at the Gardiner.

Posted by Greg Clow in contests, films, news and media on November 21, 2007 at 3:09 pm

As mentioned here yesterday, the documentary film How To Cook Your Life about Zen priest and chef Edward Espe Brown is opening in Toronto this Friday, November 23rd.

At the time of the original post, we weren't sure where the film would be screening, but a representative from the distributor Mongrel Media has since confirmed that it will be showing at Canada Square (2190 Yonge Street at Eglinton).

Mongrel Media have also provided us with five screening passes to give away. Each pass will admit two people to any Monday to Thursday showing of How To Cook Your Life throughout the film's run. To win a pass, you simply need to be one of the first five people to email your name and full mailing address to htcyl@tasteto.com.

UPDATE: All of the passes have been claimed. Thanks to all who entered! 

And don't forget that we're also giving away a pair of tickets to another foodie documentary, A Table In Heaven, which will be screening at the Bloor Cinema on Wednesday, December 5th. Full details on that give-away can be found in yesterday's post.

Posted by Greg Clow in contests, films, news and media on November 20, 2007 at 7:36 am

A pair of food-related documentaries will soon be screening in Toronto, one in a limited release and one for a single night only. We've got the scoop on both of them, as well as a pair of tickets to give away to one of them. Which one? You'll have to read on to find out...

Posted by Greg Clow in contests, events, events upcoming, films, news and media on October 22, 2007 at 7:49 am

In the summer of 2006, chef Michael Stadtländer along with his wife Nobuyo, son Hermann, and several apprentices from his renowned restaurant Eigensinn Farm hopped into a renovated and biodiesel-powered school bus cum kitchen-on-wheels called "The Liberator" and drove across Canada. They were headed to several islands off the coast of British Columbia for a series of remarkable culinary events, and their many adventures were filmed, with the result being The Islands Project, a documentary that is charming, eccentric, and completely entertaining - much like Stadtländer himself.

Posted by Greg Clow in contests, events, events upcoming, films, news and media on October 18, 2007 at 12:03 am

The 8th annual Planet in Focus International Environmental Film and Video Festival (whew, that's a mouthful!) kicks off next Wednesday, October 24th for a five day run. One of the largest events of its kind in the world, the festival will feature screenings of over 80 documentaries, dramatic features, shorts, animated films and experimental works that "celebrate, question, and establish varied ways of viewing the state of our world".

As you might guess from the fact that we're mentioning the festival on Taste T.O., a lot of the films in this year's line-up are focussed on food and agriculture. Some of the food-related festival highlights are listed below - but first, we have a contest!

The folks at Planet in Focus have provided us five pairs of tickets that are good for admission to any screening at the festival. If you would like a chance to win a pair, send us an email at pif@tasteto.com with your name and the title of one of the food-related films screening at Planet in Focus this year. Deadline for entries is 12:00 noon on Tuesday, October 23rd, and the five winners will be notified on Tuesday afternoon. The winners' names will be at the box office of both festival venues (The Royal Cinema and Innis College) and will allow the winner and a guest entry to any festival screening of their choice.

Read on for information about a few of the films that will be screened at the festival...

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in films, news and media on May 4, 2007 at 1:29 pm

I hate it when we drop the ball.

April was a messed up month here at the TasteTO offices and the many tickets for Hot Docs screenings we had purchased in advance sat in a drawer unused, as we just didn't have time to make it out. So Greg and I decided, without even looking at the schedule, to take a pass this year on the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (even thought it's one of our favourites - what other festival hands out free snacks while you're waiting in line?), figuring we wouldn't have time. We didn't even bother to look at the schedule.

Turns out there are three really interesting food-related films that look to be worth a viewing.

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming, films, news and media on March 21, 2007 at 11:27 pm

With the warm weather in Toronto comes film festival season, and one of the best is Hot Docs, North America's largest documentary festival.

As always, the 100+ films at the fest - which runs April 19th to 29th this year - cover a wide array of topics, including a few related to food and farming. Here's a handy list, complete with a link to each film's info page on the Hot Docs website...