2009 Florida Film Fest Opens With Food Theme

Iron Chef Cat Cora Offers Temptation, Indulgence, and Redemption

Feb 11, 2009

Now in its 18th year, the Florida Film Festival opens on Friday March 27 with original cinema and forbidden fruit.

As in recent years, the Florida Film Festival, based in the Orlando, Florida, area, kicks off with a celebration of film, food, and wine during its opening weekend. Last year’s highly successful opening events featured special guest Anthony Bourdain, host of the Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and author of Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.

The Garden of Eden Inspires Opening Events

This year’s event begins on Friday, March 27 with Temptation, which includes the opening night film (U.S. premiere of Management with Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn) followed by a Garden of Eden-themed event featuring Forbidden Fruit (and other creations) by Food Network star and Master Iron Chef Cat Cora. Founding father of New World Cuisine, Norman Van Aken also will be on hand, plus additional chefs from some of Central Florida’s most famous restaurants.

Saturday’s culinary events center on Indulgence and begin with an afternoon discussion with Cora as she reveals what it’s like to become the Food Network’s first and only female Iron Chef. Her talk will be followed by food samplings of Southern/Hellenic-infused cuisine that she helped create. Saturday evening, three film feasts are planned at separate locations, each featuring gourmet foods inspired by favorite movies of master chefs. The selected films: The Godfather, A River Runs Through It, and King Corn.

On Sunday afternoon, the Garden of Eden theme continues with Redemption, a waterside brunch that includes traditional foods of the American South, created by the executive chef of The Boheme, the restaurant of the Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando.

Florida Film Festival Features Original Cinema

The Festival continues through Sunday, April 5, 2009, and includes 160 films selected from more than 1,500 submissions from filmmakers in 30 countries. Last year’s Festival drew more than 1,400 entries. In addition to non-competing spotlight films, sidebars, and special screenings, the Festival provides juried competitions and audience awards for narrative features, documentary films, and shorts.

This year marks the 18th year of the Florida Film Festival, which is produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida. The Festival’s primary sponsor is Full Sail Real World Education, which brought in actor Malcolm McDowell for a special afternoon presentation last year that packed Regal Cinema’s largest auditorium. Screening venues are Enzian Theater and Regal Winter Park Village 20. Special event venues include Enzian Theater, Grand Bohemian Hotel, and Norman’s.

The Florida Film Festival, accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is a core program of Enzian Theater, a nonprofit organization serving the Central Florida community for 24 years. Each year, the Festival attracts about 23,000 people.

For information about tickets to special events and movie screenings, visit the Florida Film Festival website.

The copyright of the article 2009 Florida Film Fest Opens With Food Theme in North American Film Festivals is owned by Leslie C. Halpern. Permission to republish 2009 Florida Film Fest Opens With Food Theme in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.