6.5.2025 | Culture

A Film Festival That Gives You Food for Thought

Text Stewart Johnson 
Photos Food Film Festival, Marek Metspalu

“The Chef & The Daruma”

Everyone can appreciate good food, but not everyone can appreciate what goes on behind the scenes to prepare this good food. The annual Food Film Festival in Kino Sõprus (Tallinn) offers a selection of documentaries dedicated to cuisine. Behind-the-scenes glimpses into the restaurant industry from around the world, the personal stories of Michelin-star chefs, and a lot more are revealed on the big screen at this festival.

This year’s film selection starts with “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall”, a documentary about a Spanish Michelin chef in Taipei and the experience of opening a new restaurant in a completely different culture. Opening remarks courtesy of the Spanish embassy to Estonia.

On Friday, watch “The Chef & the Daruma”, the story of Chef Tojo from Japan. Widely considered the father of the California roll in North America, Chef Tojo has operated his restaurant in Vancouver for over 50 years. He describes what it was like to prepare sushi at a time when sushi was considered weird, dirty, and unhealthy.

Saturday brings us “Shelf Life”, a thoughtful documentary on the process of crafting the cheeses so many of us adore. The cast of this film demonstrate the parallels of aging cheese, and aging itself. From Japan to Tbilisi, you’ll be left with an uncanny hunger for cheese.

Sunday’s closing film for the Food Film Festival is “Northern Food Story: Kita No Syokei”, a collection of stories from four top restaurants in northern Japan. Running a French restaurant in Japan, a sushi restaurant spanning generations, and operating a farm specifically to use what’s produced in their own restaurant, “Northern Food Story” is a provocative and insightful film in its own right.

More information about this year’s Food Film Festival is available in Estonian here, and tickets can be purchased at the door.