Cinema cuisine: eating the film at the Malaga Film Festival

The festival has its own gastronomic route, Vinomascope, where forty establishments offer tapas paired with wines from the Málaga and Sierras de Málaga DOs. But every day, eighty spectators don't have to wait to leave the theater to indulge in culinary delights. They are the lucky ones (tickets sell out as soon as they go on sale) who manage to get tickets to Cinema Cocina, the festival's section dedicated to films with a food theme. Five days and ten films in competition, both short and feature-length.

When it's time for the Cinema Cocina screenings, the telescopic seating in the beautiful Teatro Echegaray retracts, and tables are set up in its place. The audience sits around them and enjoys a beer or a unique wine from the Málaga and Sierras de Málaga DO, along with a local snack, during the film. Afterward, a discussion is held between the filmmakers and the audience, and a tasting related to the film is offered.

Álvaro Muñoz, a producer and gastronomic consultant at the helm of the company Lumen, is responsible for this section, which celebrates its eighth anniversary at the 28th edition of the Festival, continuing to broaden its focus. “We started with films centered on chefs and restaurants, but increasingly, we include films that showcase the entire value chain, because ultimately, gastronomy is heritage, territory, and culture, and because viewers appreciate these stories that show us where what we eat comes from, how it is produced, and how it reaches us,” says Muñoz.

Truffles and escamoles

This year, Cinema Cocina attendees were able to sample truffles, taste 100-point Parker wines, and even try escamoles (ant larvae), most for the first time, in tacos paired with a mezcal cocktail served during the screening of 'Moles y escamoles' (Vera Ruiz Acevedo, Michael James Wright). In addition, myrmecologist (ant expert) Mario Méndez explained the unique flavor profile of what is known as Mexican caviar. All for the €15 price of admission. These experiences explain why this section has a growing number of devotees.

“The truth is, we started very humbly. We were doing something similar within the context of the Málaga Gastronomy Festival, and Juan Antonio Vigar, the director of the Málaga Film Festival, invited us to bring the format here. What gave it the final push was being able to participate in the official selection, because that put us on the radar of filmmakers and producers, who began to see that this theme had potential,” explains Muñoz. Over the past eight years, 97 feature films and short films with a gastronomic theme have premiered in Málaga, featuring increasingly diverse plots and protagonists. As every year, the section concludes with a gala dinner at the Gran Hotel Miramar, during which the awards are presented.

Málaga isn't the only festival that includes a gastronomic section. The San Sebastián Film Festival has its Culinary Zinema, where the experiential aspect takes place outside the cinema, in dinners held each night after the film. In Alicante, Gastro Cinema, a themed festival, has emerged and celebrated its fourth edition. Even the world of cinema hasn't escaped the gastronomic craze.