A Marcella Hazan tribute dinner, 17 food-related films, and Michelin Chef Yoshinori Ishii’s masterclass on Japanese cuisine highlight a wine country festival starting Wednesday with 90+ events.

By Geneva Anderson

(March 16, 2025)

The Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF), March 19-23, offers an extravaganza of groundbreaking cinema, food, and fun spread over five days in glorious Sonoma, the heart of the wine country. All films are screened at venues in or within walking distance of the historic town square making SIFF one of the country’s most laid back and enjoyable festivals.  The full line-up includes over 90 films.

“After last year’s record-breaking festival, we’re thrilled to elevate the experience with a lineup of extraordinary films, visionary talent, and an exclusive culinary program,” said SIFF’s Artistic Director, Carl Spence.  Now in his third year at the helm, Spence has brought in new energy, ideas, and contacts and the programming reflects that.

“It feels like we’re getting into a real good grove under Carl’s leadership, said Amanda Salazar, senior programmer, narrative features, part of the trio Spence brought in, that also includes Oscar Arce, shorts programmer and Ken Jacobsen, documentary film programmer.

Here, we focus on SIFF’s culinary lineup (broadly defined) which features two chef-centric events; 15 food-related films (four world premieres); three parties where the bubbly flows; and a new addition, SIFF Pop-Ins, held around the town square Thursday-Sat at two venues daily where passholders can pop in for complimentary wine and delectable small bites. The VIP Lounge serves as a social hub where high-level passholders enjoy custom cocktails and sample the fare from local wineries, breweries, restaurants and culinary artisans. Beyond its cinema, SIFF is a sensory experience, welcoming guests to savor the beauty and bounty of the region.

SIFF passholders have priority admission to screenings and events. Individual tickets can be bought in advance for most events. Even if a film or event is listed as “sold out,” the box office advises that you go to the venue and stand by as excess tickets that have been reserved for pass holders will be released right before the event begins.

Opening the festival on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Sebastiani and 7 p.m. at Vet’s Hall #1, is the World Premiere of the documentary, “Sweet Störy,” directed by Sarah Justine Kerruish and Matt Maude.  This personal story follows pastry chef Meg Ray, owner of San Francisco’s highly-successful Miette patisserie on her journey back to the remote harbor town of Rödlöga, Sweden, to help transform its ramshackle Café Truten in time for its opening on Midsummer Day.  The café is only open eight weeks a year but is a lifeline for the people living in this far-flung part of the Baltic Sea. The film reveals this tight little community’s dedication, coupled with wonderful baking scenes of some truly amazing pastries.

In attendance: Meg Ray, Miette’s founder/baker; Matt Maude, director/editor/cinematographer; Sarah Justine Kerruish, director; Mike Stern, producer; Cameron James, cinematographer.

Afterwards, the hopping Opening Night Party takes place at the Sebastiani Vineyard & Winery with DJ StaRay and a “Taste of Sonoma” small bites and libations. Currently, this party is only open to Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Patron pass holders but general admission tickets may be released and sold at the venue before the party.

Sunday’s Closing Night festivities at the Sebastiani include the West Coast Premiere of Andrew Ahn’s dramedy “The Wedding Banquet” and a tribute to beloved actor/director/writer/producer Joan Chen.  Ahn’s delightful film, based on Ang Lee’s 1993 classic, tests the relationships of two LGBT couples who need to get married for convenience.  When family arrives, the plan spirals into extravagant, chaotic mayhem. Starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, and Joan Chen. In attendance: Andrew Ahn, director; Lily Collins, producer, Joan Chen.  Before the film screens, Joan Chen will be honored with the SIFF Career Achievement Award recognizing a rich body of work that includes “The Last Emperor,” “Twin Peaks,” “Lust, Caution,” “Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl,” “Dìdi”, and dozens of other roles in film and television both in front of and behind the camera.

                                               SIFF honors chefs:

Marcella’s Italian Dinner

SIFF’s annual chef’s dinner is always one of its most delightful splurges. This year, the life and culinary legacy of the late Italian chef and cookbook author Marcella Hazan will be celebrated with a four-course dinner on Thursday, March 20 at Hanna Center. The evening begins at 6:15 p.m. with drinks and hors d’oeuvres and the dinner at 7 p.m.  A few tickets remain as of press time.

About Marcella:  Born in the small fishing village of Cesenatico in Emilia-Romagna on Sept. 29, 1923 and trained as a scientist, Marcella never cooked until she married Victor Hazan and a few months later moved to New York.  There, she abandoned her career as a biologist and worked from home to recreate the Italian dishes she and Victor craved from Italy. She began giving cooking lessons, and in 1969, opened the School of Classic Italian Cooking. After Craig Claiborne wrote glowingly about her in a 1970 “New York Times” feature she was in high demand.  Her first book, “The Classic Italian Cook Book,” appeared in 1973 and established her reputation, revealing the secrets of Italian home cooking to an American audience stuck sprinkling parmesan out of a green shaker.

She wasn’t a TV personality; her impact was primarily through her six cookbooks, written in collaboration with Victor, who both translated from her Italian and gave an eloquent voice to her ideas. Perhaps her most famous recipe is her Tomato Sauce, which also may be her easiest to prepare—highest quality canned tomatoes; butter, which gives the sauce its unparalleled velvety richness, and an onion which is later discarded. Its simplicity allows the primary ingredients—the tomatoes and accompanying pasta—to shine. In October 2024, in conjunction with what would have been her 100^th birthday, Knopf reissued her beloved classic Marcella’s Italian Kitchen, with clarifications from Victor for some measurements and updating terminology.

The tribute: The dinner will feature Hazan-inspired dishes, prepared by three of Sonoma’s award-winning female chefs—Tracey Shepos Cenami, Domenica Catelli, Gia Passalacqua. Each course is paired with fine wine, this year there are some exquisite vintages you may not be familiar with.

The Sonoma String Quartet will play music from Marcella’s favorite composers, Verdi and Vivaldi. Personal stories about Hazan will be shared by her son, Giuliano Hazan, the award-winning Italian cookbook author and cooking instructor; by Rancho Gordo CEO and bean guru Steve Sando, who introduced the “Marcella” bean to his heirloom bean line after Hazan advised him to grow sorana cannellini beans for their taste, creaminess and undetectable skins.

Emmy and Peabody Award-winning film director Peter Miller will talk about Marcella and his new doc, “Marcella,” a thoughtful and important exploration of her life and legacy that just picked up a Taste Award for best feature film. (screens twice at SIFF, Thursday and Friday).  As these speakers reminisce, a slide show will display photos of Marcella throughout her life. Joanne Weir, the James Beard Award-winning chef, author, and TV personality, will host the event.

 

                    The chefs:  EDF chatted with these three chefs to get the secrets behind the dishes they’re preparing and their connection to Marcella Hazan.

Tracy Shepos-Cenami (Kendall-Jackson Chef, specializes in wine country cuisine and artisanal cheeses):  “The Beet and chevre terrine with greens and tarragon vinegar pearls is a beautiful dish that almost looks like stained glass, with big flavors. It showcases the gorgeous beets and salad greens we grow at KJ,  Laura Chenel chevre, and our own tarragon vinegar.  The balsamic pearls are a little showy and I have fun using a very cool gastro technique. It starts with the vinegar, which is mixed with agar-agar, and heated until it liquefies and is then put in a fine-tipped squeeze bottle and piped into ice cold olive oil that solidifies the droplets of vinegar into little balls.  KJ has 55 wineries around the world and I chose this salad, in part, to showcase our Copain brand and an unusual wine that people will not probably not know about.”

 

Domenica Catelli (chef/owner of Catelli’s, her family restaurant in Geyserville, cookbook author and television personality): “I learned what Italian lasagna was when I lived with Gia Passalacqua in Bologna, 30+ years ago—lots of thin delectable layers, not stuffed as heavily as it normally is here in the U.S.  Marcella’s lasagna that I’m making is very similar to one I make frequently for Catelli’s, one of my signature dishes, but mine has 10 layers and Marcella’s has six.  I always make my dough with Guisto’s 00 Organic Flour, freshly ground from the supply store in Petaluma, and use very fresh eggs and spinach. The dough must be rolled very thin. In Italy, they used to say you should be able read the newspaper through it but, nowadays, it’s your text messages. The Brooks Estate pinot from Willamette Valley, which has truly extraordinary pinot, will pair very well with the lasagna as well lead you into Gia’s second main, the Roman-style lamb.”

 

Gia Passalacqua (chef, Dry Creek General Store, Healdsburg): “I have a great love and appreciation for Marcella who was a mentor for me, as were the renowned Simili sisters in Bologna whose cooking school Marcella helped set up and I ended up apprenticing at.  When I was studying in Firenze,  my mom went to Venice twice to study with Marcella and Victor.  On one of these trips, I was invited to their finale Seafood lunch in Venice, and it was so exciting that I still remember the amazing food, the company. I can still see Marcella sitting there at that table with her cigarette and glass of whiskey. She changed the entire course of my culinary career and that of my family with just two classes.  She and the Simili sisters were very strong women; they were who they were and they didn’t put on airs.  They were simple in their approach; not the ego and showmanship you get today. They loved what they did and took their craft very seriously.

I’m preparing the Marcella beans and Roman style lamb.  In general, the Italian milk-fed lamb is eaten very young, when it’s still nursing, and it’s roasted.  It’s so delicious and succulent you don’t even know you’re eating lamb; the meat has a viscosity that you don’t get from older lamb.  Not having access to such young lamb here, I generally roast the youngest lamb I can find in its own juices with a little white wine so I still get the succulent quality and all the delicious flavor.  The beans are a separate dish and will be cooked in their own liqueur with herbs added at the end.  Marcella would serve these on a huge chunk of toast with olive oil. Here, you can put the lamb on top of the beans so you taste them together.”

 

Japanese chef Yoshinori Ishii: Masterclass and two films

A first for SIFF is a master chef lecture: Masterclass of Japanese Cuisine and Culture with Michelin Star Chef Yoshinori Ishii on Saturday, March 22, 10 a.m.-noon at Andrews Hall that includes the short film “Tanagokoro.”

About Chef Ishii:  Chef Yoshinori Ishii, executive chef-producer of Toyko’s renowned Auberge Tokito, who was awarded two Michelin stars for his innovative cuisine at Umu (UK), joins SIFF for a unique presentation of his philosophy of Japanese culinary art and culture.  In the UK, Ishii is known for his uncompromising commitment to superb ingredients; his innovative Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine; and as an artisan who introduced his diners to the classic Japanese crafts of pottery, calligraphy and floral arrangement.  He is also pioneered ikejime, a method of preparing fish to maintain freshness and quality. At Auberge Tokito in Tokyo, his commitment to the aesthetics of cuisine extends to his own handmade custom ceramic tableware, created to showcase his dishes.

Short film: “Tanagokoro” Victoria Fistes and Masashi Nozaki’s inspiring short documentary of Chef  Ishii’s restaurant Umu, the first Japanese restaurant in Europe to win two Michelin stars, and his passionate campaign to revolutionize the art of fishing through his ikejime method. In English and Japanese.  (UK, 2021, 30 min)

Feature-length documentary screening once:  Friday, March 21, 5 p.m., Andrews Hall: “Tokito: The 540-Day Journey of a Culinary Maverick”

Chef Yoshinori Ishii and his team set out to transform a historic Japanese inn into the premiere Tokyo destination for a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience, incorporating all aspects of Japanese cuisine.  Director Aki Mizutani captures Ishii’s relentless search for novel ingredients, sustainability challenges, and his own struggles as he collaborates with his long-time friend from Kyoto, Kenji Okawara, to take on this challenge.  With breathtaking visuals, the doc follows their journey over 540 days, integrating Japan’s rich cultural heritage with cutting edge gastronomy. In Japanese and English with English subtitles.  (2024, Japan, 84 min)

SIFF’s Culinary Film Line-up: 

“My Favorite Cake”  Wednesday, March 19, 4:30 PM Andrews Hall and Friday, March 21, 1 PM, Sebastiani Theater

 

It’s rare that SIFF has an Iranian feature; one that is not sad is even rarer.  Iranian directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha (“Ballad of a White Cow”) have created another stirring film in their heartwarming story of Mahin (Lili Farhadpour), a 70 year-old Iranian widow who boldly steps out of her lonely routine and into a romance with Faramarz (Esmaeel Mehrabi), a taxi driver she eavesdrops on in a café and later asks to drive her home and then invites inside.  A lovingly baked cake is his reward for repairing her broken outdoor lights and soon they are glowing from the joy of connection. The directors recently faced a travel ban and impending trial from Iran’s Revolutionary authorities for their film’s depiction of Mahin without her hijab, as well as scenes of her defying the morality police, and dancing and drinking wine with a man to whom she is not married. This tender meditation on love and loss, loneliness, old age, and self expression under repression won the FIPRESCI  and Ecumenical Jury Prizes at the Berlin Int’l Film Festival.  In Farsi with English subtitles (Iran, France, Sweden, Germany, 2024, 96 min)

“Marcella”  Thursday, March 20, 1 PM, Sebastiani and Friday, March 21, 1:30 PM

Marcella Hazan is the secret ingredient that made Italian cuisine irresistible to Americans. Emmy and Peabody Award winning director Peter Miller’s thoroughly entertaining and impeccably researched new doc, pieces together her life, from her childhood in the sleepy Italian village of Cesenatico, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy to her marriage to Victor Hazan and move to New York, and her emergence as the woman who introduced regional Italian cooking to an American audience who’d never before heard of risotto, pancetta or Parmigiano Reggiano. Through her six cookbooks, teaching, and passion for food, she stirred up a culinary revolution, turning simple fresh ingredients into masterpieces.  Her story is told by her husband and collaborator, Victor Hazan; her son Guiliano, who has followed in her footsteps; and through fascinating interviews with food luminaries Jacques Pépin, restauranteur Danny Meyer, chef and author Lidia Bastianich, and others.  Delights include visits into the home kitchens of  Chef Shola Olunloyo, Chef April Bloomfield and Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo who cook their favorite Marcella recipes while dishing about Marcella. All impeccably edited by Amy Linton. (USA, 2024, 98 min) Screening followed by a discussion with director Peter Miller and Giuliano Hazan

“Grand Maison Paris” Thursday, March 20, 10 a.m. Vet’s Hall #1 and Saturday, March 22, 8 p.m., Vet’s Hall #2

Set in the high-stakes world of Parisian high end cuisine, this standalone feature film directed by Ayuko Tsukahara is a spin off from the Japanese hit series, “La Grande Maison: Tokyo.”  This culinary drama stars Japanese sensation Takuya Kimura (“Blade of the Immortal”, “The Boy and the Heron”), reprising his lead role from the series, and popular Korean actor and rapper Taec-yeon.  Kimura is Obana, a famous Japanese chef opening a new restaurant in Paris in the quest for his elusive third Michelin star. But his pride, ambition and uncompromising approach cause tension with his team and his volatility increases as the pressure mounts. The film immerses viewers in the intoxicating world of gourmet cooking. Renowned three Michelin star Japanese chef Kei Kobayashi from Paris’ three Michelin star restaurant Kei created the film’s enticing cuisine. (Japan, 2024, 111 min)

“Shelf Life”  Thursday, March 20, 11:30 a.m., Sonoma Valley Women’s Club and Saturday, March 22, 12:30 p.m., Andrews Hall

In this fascinating and beautifully-shot documentary, Peabody award-winning director Ian Cheney (“The Arc of Oblivion”) travels the globe for an in-depth look at the many different ways that humans appreciate cheese, simultaneously meditating on the metaphysics of aging (mold metaphors abound) and life itself.  In English, Arabic, French, Georgian, Japanese.  (USA, Georgia, England, Egypt, Spain, Wales, 2024, 76 min)

“Holy Cow” Thursday, March 20, 2025, 4:30 p.m., Vet’s Hall #2 and Sunday, March 23, 10:30 a.m., Vet’s Hall #2

Following the sudden death of his farmer father, party-hearty 18-year-old Totone (Clément Faveau) abruptly becomes man of the house in Louise Courvoisier’s directorial debut which premiered last year at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. Taking a job at a nearby dairy, he quickly falls for the farmer’s daughter and decides he will solve his problems by winning a 30,000 Euro prize for producing the best Comté in the region. Courvoisier’s cast of non-professional actors are all from the bucolic Jura region where she herself grew up, creating a rich depiction of rural agricultural life and the unpredictable events that shape growing up.  In French with English subtitles.  (2024, France, 90 min)

“Little Red Sweet” screens once: Friday, March 21, Andrews Hall 2:30 p.m.

Hong Kong director Vincent Chow Wing’s feature debut.  After her mother suffers a stroke and falls into a coma, flight attendant May sets aside her career ambitions and steps in to save the family’s traditional Chinese dessert shop that has operated in a sleepy Kowloon City neighborhood since the 1980’s.  Set over several years in 2010’s, the film focuses on May’s relationship with her conservative father and conflict with her brother as well as the pending threat of urban development which jeopardizes their business, all interwoven with rich nostalgia for a home recipe. In Cantonese with English subtitles.  (Hong Kong, 2024, 92 min)

“Fatal Watch” World Premiere:  screens once: Friday, March 21, 4:30 p.m., Sonoma Valley Women’s Club

Directors Mark Benjamin, Katie Carpenter have helmed this gripping, true crime documentary set on the high seas that, for the first time, exposes the largely unseen and fascinating world of the fisheries observers. The doc weaves the stories of four marine observers and investigators exposing the true cost of overfishing. Combining exclusive footage with access to key investigations, the documentary shows how tuna has become a prized commodity and how marine observers are dying to tell the truth in the midst of cover-ups. (USA, 2025, 89 min) In attendance: Director/producer Natasha Benjamin; Producer Carole Delouvrier; Producer Alexandra Lexton

“Belly Belly” short film, Friday, March 21, 2025, 2:30 p.m., Vets’ Hall 2,  Part of  “To the Edge Shorts” program (74 min in all)

Director Gabriel Carnick’s LGBTQ+ body-horror satire about connection, compulsion, and, belly-obsession in the tiktok epoch. Body Dysmorphia’s a hell of a drug.  But you can’t ignore the hunger forever. In Carnick’s words: “I was enormously inspired by the opportunity to view weighty concepts of identity, consumption, and the terrible isolation of disordered eating through a subversive and unconventional lens.” (USA, 2024, 12 min)

“Mistura” Friday, March 21, 7 p.m., Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and Saturday, March 22, 12:30 p.m., Sonoma Valley Museum of Art

Mexico’s Bárbara Mori and Peruvians Christian Meir and Ricardo de Montreuil reunite for this culinary period drama some 17 years after their 2005 hit “La Mujer de Mi Hermano” (“My Brother’s Wife”).  “Mistura” (mixture or blend) takes place in 1960’s Peru and this film is all about fusion. Mori plays posh French-born Peruvian, Norma, whose husband (Meier) has left her for another woman, ostracizing her from Lima’s elitist high society.   She reinvents herself by teaming up with people she was raised to ignore and launches a restaurant that celebrates Lima’s cultural and culinary diversity offering cuisine that has evolved through the fusion of indigenous Peruvian cultures, Spanish colonization and Arab/Moorish influences. In Spanish with English subtitles. (2024, Peru, 101 min) In attendance: Director Ricardo de Montreuil and producer Ivan Orlic.

“Ali Eats America”  World Premiere,  Saturday, March 22, 4 p.m. Sebastiani and Sunday, March 23, 11 a.m. Andrews Hall

17-year-old Ali Allouche, who is battling cancer, binges on food shows during his chemo treatments. Inspired by Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown,” Ali plots a cross-country adventure with his mother, Jen, to visit innovative chefs and immerse themselves in America’s rich food culture. Ali’s story is one of humor, tears and heart, an honest and uplifting look at life with and beyond a cancer diagnosis. (USA, 2025, 91 min) In attendance: Ali Allouche, film subject; Jen Danko, film subject; Roush Niaghi, director; Greg Morris, director.

“Trifole”  Saturday, March 22, 6:30 p.m., Vet’s Hall #2 and Sunday, March 23, 1:30 p.m. Andrews Hall

In this bittersweet portrait of a vanishing rural way of life, Dalia (Ydalie Turk) travels to Langhe, in the hilly region of Piedmont, the land of highly-prized Alba white truffle, to care for her aging grandfather, Igor (Umberto Orsini), an expert truffle forager.  Armed with his loyal (scene-stealing) dog Birba, the most famous truffle hunting dog in the region, Dahlia hunts for a prizewinning truffle to save his home. (Birba will seem familiar; she also appeared in the documentary “Truffle Hunters.”)  “Trifole” has been nominated for a Premi David de Donatello, the Italian equivalent of an Oscar. In Italian with English subtitles. (Italy, 2024, 100 min)  In attendance: Director Gabriele Fabbro.

“Café Chairel”   World Premiere   Saturday, March 22, 6 p.m., Woman’s Club and Sunday, August 23, 4:30 p.m., Andrews Hall

A quiet café in a Mexican seaside enclave, a lonely owner, and a wandering young woman—what begins as a simple act of kindness turns into an intimate, revealing friendship despite their opposite personalities. This beautifully-shot, soul-warming dramedy was filmed in Tampico, Mexico and is best paired with a strong cup of coffee. Starring Mauricio Isaac, Tessa Ia, and Leo Deluglio.  In Spanish with English subtitles. (Mexico, 2024, 110 min)  In attendance:  Leo Deluglio, actor; Fernando Guillermo Barreda Luna; Director; Ernesto Martinez, producer; Jessica Danya Villegas, producer; Eduardo Servello, cinematographer.

“Bad Shabbos” Wednesday, March 19 4:00 p.m., Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall #1 and Friday, March 21, 11:00 a.m., Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall #1

David invites his fiancé and her devoutly Catholic parents to meet his very Jewish family at a traditional Shabbat dinner in New York’s Upper West Side. But an accidental death (or is it a murder?) causes hilarious havoc with rapid-fire dialogue and a warm heart in this Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award winning screwball comedy starring Kyra Sedgwick, Meghan Leathers, and Cliff “Method Man” Smith.  You don’t have to be Jewish to have a delicious time. (USA, 2024, 84 min)

POSTER AND TRAILER GALLERY FOR FOOD RELATED FLIMS AT THE SONOMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Many more trailers for other films in the festival can be found on the SIFF YouTube channel.

Complete schedule here.

Follow the Festival for updates a reports on Facebook and Instagram.

Chef Ishii is also a highly skilled potter. See more of his work and read about it on “Journeys in Artistry.”

(Subtitles in French on trailer; in English at the Festival)

 

 

Geneva Anderson is a free-lance writer based in rural Penngrove, CA who writes on art, film, food, identity, and cultural heritage.  She is the editor of ARThound, an online arts publication.  She grew up on a small farm in Petaluma, CA, with animals and gardens.  A graduate of UC Berkeley, Princeton, and Columbia School of Journalism, she covered the transition of Eastern Europe from state socialism and reported for seven years from Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Turkey.  She has also worked on assignment in Asia, Cuba, Mexico, South America.

She is a regular at EatDrinkFims and has written or done photography for Art, Arte, ARTnews, The Art Newspaper, Balkan, Balkan News, Budapest Sun,  Flash Art, Neue Bildende Kunst, Sculpture, EIU, Euromoney, The International Economy, The Press Democrat, The Argus Courier,Vanity Fair,  Global Finance, and others.  She is passionate about Rhodesian Ridgebacks and currently has two, Frida and Ruby Rose.