Dinner and a Movie, Home Edition

By Betsy Ross

With everything else based in our living rooms these days, including work and school, FotoFocus is offering the chance to enjoy the tried-and-true date night staple, dinner and a movie, at home instead. 

SECOND SCREENS: Foodie edition is FotoFocus’ celebration of cinema that supports and promotes local dining as well. “We were trying to think of an innovative, interesting way to virtually engage folks to watch movies in their own home but also provide an interactive element to make the experience more fun,” C. Jacqueline Wood, film curator at large for FotoFocus said.

SECOND SCREENS started in January of last year as a monthly in-person screening series but when stay-at-home orders came down, switched to a drive-in format for the summer. This latest ideation keeps the movie and adds the food element while supporting two areas hardest hit by the pandemic: The arts and restaurants.

Each month from now until May the FotoFocus film series combines a classic movie with a local chef who will discuss the natural symbiotic relationship of film and food and suggest pairings. February’s movie is Big Night, as Chef Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and businessman Secondo (Stanley Tucci), immigrant brothers from Italy, open their dream restaurant in New Jersey. The featured chef is Chrissy Antenucci from The Wheel.

March features Spirited Away, an animated feature where 10-year-old Chihiro (Rumi Hiiragi) and her parents (Takashi Naitô, Yasuko Sawaguchi) stumble upon a seemingly abandoned amusement park. After her mother and father are turned into giant pigs, Chihiro meets the mysterious Haku (Miyu Irino), who explains that the park is a resort for supernatural beings who need a break from their time spent in the earthly realm, and that she must work there to free herself and her parents. Kiki’s chef Hideki Harada offers the pairings.

In April, the classic Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is paired with Frances Kroner of Sleepy Bee Café who will bring (what else) chocolate, and May features the French classic Amélie, a fanciful comedy about a young woman who discretely orchestrates the lives of the people around her. Jean-Robert de Cavel of French Crust, Le Bar a Boeuf and Frenchie Fresh has a selection of French sauces and dressings to pair. 

FotoFocus offers downloadable recipes from the partner chefs, and each month the featured restaurant will offer a takeout item that complements the film.

For information on the movies and chef pairings, visit https://www.fotofocus.org/film/2021/second-screens-foodie-edition.