Ceres Food × Film

Overview

CERES FOOD × FILM is a year-round platform for food storytelling. Through film, conversation, and community gatherings, we explore the culture, systems, and people shaping what and how we eat. CERES partners with universities, cultural institutions, chefs, filmmakers, and food innovators to present work that examines food as a lens on culture, labor, climate, equity, and pleasure. Recent programs have featured voices including Ruth Reichl, Laura Gabbert (City of Gold), Chris Morocco (Bon Appétit), Priyanka Naik, and Jaeki Cho, alongside collaborations with New York University, Lonely Whale, Rethink Food, Kiss the Ground, and Stone Barns. ● YEAR-ROUND SUBMISSIONS CERES accepts submissions year-round. Projects may be considered for a variety of CERES programs, including our annual Spring festival in New York City, virtual presentations, standalone screenings, thematic series, partner events, and future programming opportunities. Because CERES programs work throughout the year, there is no single submission cycle or deadline. Films remain under consideration as opportunities arise. ● SPRING SEASON | FLAGSHIP EVENT Each spring, CERES presents its flagship Food × Film season in New York City and virtually, bringing together filmmakers, chefs, journalists, scholars, and audiences through screenings, conversations, and community events. The Spring season is one part of Ceres’ year-round programming. ● WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR CERES welcomes short and feature documentaries, experimental work, animation, new media, and episodic or pilot projects that engage meaningfully with food — from access and equity to climate, culture, labor, pleasure, and gastronomy. ● QUESTIONS BEFORE SUBMITTING ○ What does “food film” mean to Ceres? For us, food is not a genre but a lens. Films may center chefs, farmers, labor, policy, climate, ritual, migration, science, pleasure, or unexpected intersections. If food is meaningfully present in your work, it likely belongs in the conversation. ○ Are premieres required? CERES accepts both premiere and non-premiere submissions. ○ What stage of completion must my film be in? Films should be substantially complete at submission. Rough cuts may be considered if narrative structure and editorial direction are clearly established. ○ Do you accept international submissions? CERES welcomes filmmakers from around the world. ○ Are films in languages other than English eligible? Certainly; non-English films must include English subtitles. ○ How are films selected? Submissions are reviewed by Ceres’ programming team. We consider storytelling craft, clarity of perspective, thematic resonance, and meaningful engagement with food and its broader cultural, social, or environmental context.

Last updated Sep 6, 2026

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Festival Details

FilmFreeway communityGold festival

• Filmmaker

  Fantastic festival - thank you so much for having us! Some really great films, talks and food

• Filmmaker

  A great job by the organizers in communicating and organizing this unique experience for audiences.

• Filmmaker

  Incredible and intimate food film festival! Really tailored niche to have this kind of festival exist, especially if your work is in this field. We were lucky to be chosen for a Q&A and this gave us a more intimate connection to our audience, etc.

• Filmmaker

  Our feature documentary "Blank Plate: Creating The Best Restaurant in The World" was selected at Ceres Food Film Festival in October 2025 and won the Best Feature Award : we were delighted of working with the festival's team and we would like to thank them for their hard work and professionalism during the whole seelction process and during the festival and its promotion. We wish a long life to this great festival !

• Filmmaker

  Thank you Ceres Festival team of directors, judges and programmers for including my short doc in your 2025 Food Film Festival. My film was streamed virtually, for more audiences to see than you would fit into a movie theater, which was exciting in itself, as I could send links to family and friends all over the world. The organizers were extremely professional, communicated clearly throughout the preparation process and kept me informed of the status of the festival programming. Their website is easy to navigate, so if your film was among the many that were virtually presented, it was easy to find. It had the synopsis, TRT, production team, and link to trailer all packaged in a compact popup window. I'm on the other coast and was not able to attend any of the in-person events, but I heard amazing things from a couple of friends who attended. Thank you for a great job!

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