Hundreds of people turned out at the weekend to support Kingussie’s third winter festival –Food on Film 2010. From glamorous teenagers celebrating films they had made themselves at their very own Oscar Night, to enthusiastic cooks seeking inspiration from celebrity chefs; from young children making balloon bees with the Brownies to elderly residents enjoying tea and cakes and feature films – there was something for everyone at this unique festival which aims to celebrate and explore the world of food.
Organisers were delighted to speak to people who had come to enjoy the festivities from as far as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Inverness and even London, while appreciating that there were also many more local people attending all the events than in previous years. Bev Smith from Fortrose whose son Oliver won an award for ‘Best Documentary’ on the opening night said “Congratulations – it was a great night. I loved the venue `dressing` and as usual the films were interesting and the standard high. I am always amazed at the originality!”
Friday’s Oscar Night saw Kingussie High School transformed into a glitzy venue complete with red carpet, a huge flame torch at the door, and an introduction from Food on Filmpatron, BBC’s Craig Anderson. With delicious canapés and drinks to start the evening, the glamorously dressed audience sat round gorgeous tables with candles and floating flowers while watching a series of short films made for the ‘Highland Youth Award for Short Food Films’. A panel of film industry judges gave excellent, measured feedback to the filmmakers after each film, and went on to choose the winners during an interval that saw guests enjoying a spectacular white chocolate fountain and listening to lively local youth bands Manymore and Disengaged. The winning film, “Now Casting” by Kingussie High School S3 students Duncan Rossi and Lewis Faulkner, was a beautifully shot story of a boy catching his own fish supper. Viewers were amazed that the boys had made the film on their own as the standard of filming was so high.
Scottish Bafta winning director Justin Molotnikov was delighted to be on the judging panel, and also took part at The Food Hall on Saturday when he gave his first ever cooking demonstration. Having trained as a chef before getting into filmmaking, Justin was in his element improvising delicious food on stage using fresh ingredients from the market stalls.“I may well have found a new career with this,” he said, “I really enjoyed it, but it was exhausting too!” He expressed great admiration for TV chef Jacqueline O’Donnell from The Sisters restaurant in Glasgow who was there for the second year running and spent the best part of an hour on stage cooking and entertaining a packed audience with her mouth watering recipes.
With green and white striped awnings transforming the school canteen into a colourful market place, it was easy for people to forget where they were and be transported by the array of delicious food and drink on offer. A host of Scottish food producers sold everything from smoked fish to cream cakes, handmade cheeses to stone baked pizzas, with freshly ground coffee, honey, rapeseed oil, fresh fruit and vegetables and much more also on offer.“Each year we have more producers joining us, and already I have more people keen to take part next year,” said The Food Hall organizer Lydie Bocquillon.
Keanu Thomson's pizzas at The Food Hall
There were two short films made by local people screened during the afternoon, one of which called “Christmas Pizza” was a celebration of the fun of cooking together as Health and Happiness Highlands partners prepared their Christmas lunch. The other, “Hannah and the Honey Man” showed a conversation between a young girl and a beekeeper about bees and honey. Caberfeidh Horizons organised a magnificent raffle with products donated by stall holders, and their enthusiastic ticket selling gave a cheerful welcome to all festival goers at the door.
This was followed by two feature films “Julie and Julia” and “Bee Movie” both of which played to audiences that were full to capacity. Over 500 people attended the various events and organizers were delighted with the turn out. Festival director Helen Graham said “This year we have worked with both the Primary School and the High School as well as several other community groups such as Caberfeidh Horizons. The involvement and support of local people has been a real encouragement and a key factor in helping to make this year’s festival a real success.”
