Foodie-focused film fest serves its final helping in Boulder this week

For eight years, the Flatirons Food Film Festival enticed hungry locals with movies and munchies that aimed to educate them about the world’s food systems and inspire them to think deeply about where their food comes from.

When the festival returns in-person this Thursday for the first time since 2019, it will be something of a curtain call. Julia Joun, festival founder and director, is discontinuing the event after 2022.

“It’s huge to do a festival every year. It’s a year-long enterprise and it’s consuming,” said Joun. “We could do smaller events that don’t require as much and still appreciate the food systems and talk about it, but we don’t always have to be that ambitious.”

The Flatirons Food Film Festival debuted in 2013, featuring seven films over the course of five days, plus interactive elements like a wine tasting. Each year thereafter, the offerings became more expansive to include multiple movie and event pairings, such as a beer film and a guided tasting led by a Certified Cicerone or screenings bookended by panels and prepared food.

The festival hosted more than 120 individual events over the years, Joun said.

The 2022 installment at the Boulder Public Library’s Canyon Theater features a showing of “The Truffle Hunters,” a documentary about Italian families who seek and harvest coveted truffle mushrooms, followed by thematic bites from Boulder restaurants Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage, Basta, Big Red F Group and Jax Fish House, among others.

Additionally, truffle experts from James Beard award-winning restaurant Frasca Food and Wine will moderate a discussion about the ingredient, which is considered a delicacy on any dish. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased via Eventbrite.