![]() He seemed entranced by the idea and said yes." I had also known his brother Rene Highway through a connection at Toronto Dance theatre and when I sent Tomson a cold email, I told him that I was a former actor turned chef/film festival ED, that I had known his brother and that we were celebrating Indigenous cuisine AND film this year. "I did not know that he was also an accomplished musician. I was an actor and director here in Canada in the '80's and remembered Tomson as one of our seminal playwrights and performers. Last year was Phil Rosenthal of Somebody Feed Phil, so we wanted an arts person this year. MICHAEL HOWELL: "At Devour! We try to alternate between food and film/arts personalities. (Courtesy Devour! The Food Film Fest) Tomson Highway will be at the festivals. We're proud of our theme and were able to curate over 40 percent of our film program to be Indigenous-focused with a staggering 27 nations represented on screen.ĭevour!'s headlining special guest Tomson Highway selected the opening night film, Tampopo, and will also perform a concert during the festival. LIA RINALDO: "It's so hard to choose just one film or event. What is one event, one film, that you think will stick with audiences long after the festival is over? That moment that people will think about for a while after? Also flying in chefs from Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Finland proved logistically challenging to get them here with reduced flights and Covid measures." How can you have an opening night reception with 300 people, but only 40 at the film. For instance, up until October 5th we could only put 40 people in our host cinema, the Al Whittle Theatre. There is so much confusion over the rules that we too felt a little out of the loop and found it very difficult to plan. MICHAEL HOWELL: "Mostly not knowing what phase of our recovery we would be in. We're still in a pandemic world, what challenges did you face this year to put on a festival? It is a hybrid model. It's an incredible team that has come together to ensure we deliver a meaningful event this year." We also enlisted Chef Joseph Shawana from the founder and chair of the Indigenous Culinary of Associated Nations to help us curate the participating chefs and Garret Gloade from Mill Brook First Nation has been handling our opening Mawi'omi. "Zabrina Whitman has been on our Advisory Panel and has been a great connector of people and ideas around this year's program. Through our partnership with Benjamin Bridge, working together on Beyond Terroir, we made some wonderful inroads with the Glooscap First Nation. Every Devour! theme is chosen over a year out - we're already having conversations about 20. You chose the theme Global Indigenous Cuisine and Cinema, how did this theme come about? You've included Beyond Terroir in the festival in previous years, did that spark an interest that brought you to this theme? MICHAEL HOWELL: "We've been at this theme for a couple of years now. "This reimagined festival makes it possible for us to bring Devour! to an even wider audience than ever before." We reached out to Devour!'s Executive Director Michael Howell and Managing Director Lia Rinaldo to weigh in on a few topics about the festival: "What started out as a way to maintain our festival during uncertain times has grown into so much more," says Rinaldo. Canada is well represented in the film category, with 5 features and 10 short films making up 32 percent of the Devour! film line up! On the film front, a focus on Indigenous cinema features perspectives, visuals, and stories from over 20 individual nations. With eight incoming Indigenous chefs collaborating on multiple events throughout the week, Devour! will deliver a unique palette. I'm looking forward to our continued partnership as we celebrate Global Indigenous Cinema and Cuisine at Devour! 2021 and for years to come." "Glooscap First Nation has successfully collaborated with the festival in years past to celebrate Mi'kmaq culture and bring this experience to visitors from around the world. ![]() ![]() (Courtesy Devour! The Food Film Fest)"Devour! The Food Film Fest is an important vehicle for advancing awareness of Indigenous culture by celebrating First Nation communities, filmmaking, and food," says Chief Sidney Peters of the Glooscap First Nation. Chief Sidney Peters of the Glooscap First Nation, photographed last year at Devour!’s Beyond Terroir event, says the festival is an important vehicle for advancing awareness of Indigenous culture.
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