SIFF a Gourmet Affair
updated: Mar 31, 2011, 10:06 PM

Source: SIFF

(Sonoma, CA) March 25 2011 - Known as a Festival of Film, Food and Wine, the Sonoma International Film Festival (April 6-10, 2011) is a gourmet affair to delight all the senses - from the flickering of silver screen to tasty plates and sparkling wines. This year, the festival is centered around the "Backlot" hospitality tent and a lively street food environment. Each of the screening venues will offer food and beverages so guests can enjoy a meal or glass of wine while they watch a movie. "Films are meant to be enjoyed with food and wine!" says Festival Director Kevin McNeely, "We are especially excited by our ability to screen the best of independent and world cinema and pair it with the unique flavors of wine country."

Food Trucks in the Festival Hub

"We will debut a Street Food Court at this year's Festival" says Operations Director, Mary Catherine Cutcliffe, "The street food craze is a hot trend and will add a festive air to the overall feel of our event." The addition of grab-and-go food plus a friendly picnic area will make the Festival hub in the horseshoe of Sonoma Plaza a great place to hang out. The food trucks will offer a range of choices from Chicago style hot dogs with wine country toppings to Dim Sum Charlie's noodle bowls and freshly steamed dim sum. Nearby, there will be a beer garden sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Company and a Bubble Lounge hosted by Gloria Ferrer. Wine Country Party and Events will introduce their new picnic tables with ice-filled troughs for chilling wine, champagne and beer which guests can purchase from Historic Plaza Liquors, a festival partner. The food court opens Friday, April 8, 2011 at 5:30 pm and community members are invited to enjoy the unique street food options.

Murphy's Irish Pub will serve 'Sliders and Sliders" - hamburger and grilled oysters to pair with the sparkling wine being served at the Gloria Ferrer Bubble Lounge. Mary's Pizza, a hometown favorite, will serve pizza by the slice. A beer garden featuring New Belgium Beer will pour ice cold pints for $5. Harvey's Donuts will be there with their new donut machine "Donutzilla" and will be serving piping hot donuts, coffee & cocoa all day and night. Cochon Volant will serve a ‘rib-a-tizer, chicken ceasar and BBQ pork sandwiches. Fork Catering will serve the best of their fresh, seasonal and local menu and Mike the Baker, of Farmer's Market bread fame, will be doing wood-fired pretzels on site.

"Backlot"

An elegant hospitality tent provided by Wine Country Party and Events will house our Backlot and is open to all pass holders. This chic lounge environment complete with chandeliers and sofas will be a place for festival-goers to eat and drink. Wine and beer will be available for purchase with $5 tickets available at the box office. Sushi by Ed Metcalfe of Shiso Sushi will be served on Friday and Sunday in the Backlot only.

Wine and Food at the Venues

Over 23 wineries and the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance will be represented throughout the Festival including Sebastiani, Gundlach Bundschu, Muscardini Cellars, Eric Ross, Banshee Wines, Haraszthy Cellars, Highway 12, Gloria Ferrer, Roessler Cellars, and Nicholson Ranch. A New Belgium Beer Garden and a Gloria Ferrer Bubble Lounge will be located in the Sonoma Plaza, one of the few public parks in the State of California that allows festive libations! So feel free to wander, mingle and sip.

Each screening venue will either offer full dining options or feature a sampling of snacks and treats provided by Festival sponsors and partners. While some snacks like popchips, US Pure Water and Luna Bars will be available at several festival venues, other nibbles will be exclusive to a particular venue, event or film.

For the Student Program on Thursday April 7th at the Sebastiani Theater, there will be Cuties California Mandarins and Wonderful Pistachios. On Saturday morning, April 9th, Clo the Cow from Clover-Stornetta dairy will be in costume to delight the children with samples of delicious yogurt made from locally farmed milk. Also at the Sebastiani throughout the festival will be traditional theater treats - like popcorn with real butter and red vines served in brown paper - available at their retro-chic concession counter.

The Woman's Club will feature Purity Organic and Whole Soy yogurt. The New Belgium Lounge at the Community Center is sponsored by New Belgium Brewing; the Lounge will pair New Belgium brews with locally-made Krave jerky in a variety of gourmet flavors like chili lime, pineapple orange and lemon garlic. Mia's Kitchen at the Vintage House is being sponsored by Mia Sebastiani and The Other Guys wines. Mia will showcase her sauces, reductions and oils with a traditional Italian menu of pasta, salad and bread. The Sebastiani Winery Barrel Room will be appointed as a true "Wine Country Cinema" with antique church pews and cafe tables arranged among stacks of wine barrels for sipping wine and viewing film; Sebastiani wines can be purchased by the glass and will be available at every screening. Murphy's Irish Pub is creating themed menus tailored to film screenings. This will be an easy-to-order pub menu that can be whispered to the server without disturbing your neighbors.

At the Veteran's Memorial Building, where Susan Sarandon will receive her Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday April 9th, students and teachers of the Sonoma Academy of Dance & Arts will be selling concessions for the Tribute and screening of THELMA & LOUISE.

Foodie Films

This year's film program includes one feature documentary about food, a black comedy about the Norwegian Lutefisk, and two short films about food trucks and mobile restaurants as a creative way to use urban space.

A MATTER OF TASTE takes an intimate look inside the world of an immensely talented and driven young chef, Paul Liebrandt. At 24, he was awarded three stars by the New York Times for unforgettable and hyper modern dishes such as "eel, violets and chocolate," "espuma of calf brains and foie gras," and "beer and truffle soup." Critic William Grimes likened Paul to "a pianist who seems to have found a couple of dozen extra keys." Conversely, Gourmet critic Jonathan Gold called Paul's food "the result of a failed science experiment." He soon became a chef critics loved or loved to hate. The film follows Paul over a decade and reveals his creative process in the kitchen, as well as the extreme hard work, long hours, and dedication it takes to be a culinary artist and have success in the cutthroat world of haute cuisine in New York City.

In the dark comedy, LUTEFISK WARS, documentary filmmakers examine the troubles which escalate in Newford, North Dakota, a small town with a large number of people of Norwegian descent. On a quiet afternoon on his farmstead, Schwan's delivery man and aspiring chef, Karl Larsen, receives an unexpected visitor. Before the stranger can deliver an important message to Karl about an ancient lutefisk recipe, he falls face first into Karl's homemade hot dish and dies. Intent on solving the mystery of the expired old man, Karl gathers local law enforcement, the resident undertaker, and his feisty fiancé Gail, to unravel a twisted yarn that unexpectedly leads back to two warring Norwegian mafia families and the mysterious recipe that set them at odds hundreds of years ago. In a side-splitting story of mistaken identity and mounting mayhem, Karl and the townsfolk find themselves on a humorous journey of love, loss and lutefisk. Before this is over, somebody's going eat it.

TACOS OR TACOS looks at the emergence of a new generation of taco trucks in Austin, TX and how they are shaping community identity in the city. PLASTICITY reveals three instances (a rooftop apiary, an occasional restaurant, and a mobile pizzeria) of people redefining how urban space is used in San Francisco.

Sponsors The Sonoma International Film Festival is proud to announce partnerships with the following sponsors, partners and providers: Dolby Laboratories, Comcast, AT&T, Infineon Raceways, Vode Lighting, Luna Bars, pophips, Gloria Ferrer Champagne Cellars, New Belgium Brewing, Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers, Sebastiani Winery, Mia's Kitchen, Cuties California Mandarins, Wonderful Pistachios and Sonoma Valley Party and Events.

Staying Connected to the Festival

This year, the Film Festival is excited to announce various programs to connect Festival-goers with each other and with local businesses including "check-in's" with Foursquare and Facebook Places as well as a live Twitter feed of the festival tweets hashtagged: #siff11, our official Twitter festival hashtag. Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook http://facebook.com/sonomafilmfestival and follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/sonomafilmfest to get festival information as it is announced, including the latest "check-in" hotspots at festival venues as well as local businesses. Subscribe to our YouTube channel http://youtube.com/sonomafilmfestival for all trailers and promotional videos. This year we are incorporating GetGlue.com so festival-goers will be able to "check in" to films, fun and wine too!

Be the first to comment on this article.

# # # #