Additional Information

May 13, 2019
Dieter Kosslick Thanks Culinary Cinema Curator Thomas Struck and the Chefs of the Special Series

The special series Culinary Cinema took place for the 13th and last time at the Berlinale in February 2019. Festival Director Dieter Kosslick kicked off Culinary Cinema in 2007 and, together with curator Thomas Struck, developed a film series focusing on enjoyment and taste as well as ecology and agriculture. With mottos like "In the Food for Love" or "A Taste for Balance", the series featured films that spotlight both the pleasant aspects and the darker sides of food and food production. Carlo Petrini and Alice Waters of the Slow Food movement were decisive influences on the idea for Culinary Cinema.

The Berlinale was the first film festival to establish the Culinary Cinema format, which has since been adapted by other film festivals: After a film’s screening, viewers are served a menu prepared and developed by a top chef, as inspired by the film.

“I thank curator Thomas Struck for his many years of successful work on Culinary Cinema,” said Dieter Kosslick, outgoing director of the Berlinale. “The series quickly became a magnet for viewers - among both local and international audiences.”

Culinary Cinema also served as a stage for prominent guests such as Gael García Bernal, Erin Brockovich, Jean Reno, Tilda Swinton and Natalie Portman, as well as for camera virtuosos Michael Ballhaus and Ed Lachman, and the renowned filmmakers Icíar Bollaín, Doris Dörrie, Gianni Di Gregorio, Alex Gibney, Luca Guadagnino, Robert Kenner, Eric Khoo, Diego Luna, Jonathan Nossiter, D.A. Pennebaker, Wang Quan’an, Monika Treut and many more.

Between 2007 and 2019, 36 chefs from eight countries participated in Culinary Cinema, including Michelin star restaurant chefs **Andoni Luis Aduriz, ***Massimo Bottura, ***Thomas Bühner, ***Sven Elverfeld, *Sonja Frühsammer, *Angela Hartnett, **Michael Kempf, **Kiko Moya, *Tohru Nakamura, ***Joan, Josep und Jordi Roca, and **Tim Raue.

“The Culinary Cinema kitchen hosted extraordinary international Michelin star restaurant chefs, whom I would also like to sincerely thank for their creative culinary contributions,” added Dieter Kosslick.

Press Office
May 13, 2019