The 2025 Basin Food Film Festival returns to Nelson from Nov. 6 to 8, serving up three days of films, tastings and conversations that explore the rich connections between food, culture and community across the Columbia Basin.
Hosted by the Basin Food Summit & Expo with support from Columbia Basin Trust, the festival brings together filmmakers, eaters and food and drink makers to celebrate the stories behind what nourishes us.
“Documentary films have the power to disrupt the stories we tell ourselves and open space for new and wider perspectives,” said festival director Jon Steinman. “They remind us of our compassion, our shared humanity, and they provide the inspiration required to chart a more intentional and meaning-filled future.”
Steinman is well known for his work on the Deconstructing Dinner podcast and film series, and previously ran a similar festival from 2012 to 2017.
Festival rundown
Thursday, Nov. 6 – Opening Night: Fermentation & Film
Opening night kicks off with “Brine + Dine: Oysters, Films & Ferments Party”, a lively celebration of fermentation and coastal foodways.
Fresh oysters from the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations
100-Mile Ferments Burger from the Hume Hotel kitchen
Tasting stations with local ferments, pickles, kombucha, wine and craft beer
Short films on oyster farming, wildcrafting, salmon fishing and more
Friday, Nov. 7 – Meat, Ritual & Sacred Food
Friday’s lineup explores food systems and spiritual connections to eating.
Canadian premiere of The Jungle: A revealing look at global food supply chains, followed by a panel with meat producers from the B.C. Interior
“Food is Sacred”: Includes a screening of Scenes in a Coq Au Vin and a Korean tea ceremony led by herbalist Mélanie Pulla of Water Over Leaves
Saturday, Nov. 8 – Local Markets, Young Farmers & Sweet Endings
Saturday centres on food justice, sustainability and community celebration at Mary Hall (Selkirk College), with over 60 local food vendors.
Bite-Sized: A Short Films Showcase: Stories of honey, industrial agriculture and the Kootenay Co-op’s 50th anniversary
Farming While Black: An award-winning doc on young BIPOC farmers leading sustainable agriculture, followed by a panel on land access in the Basin
Local Is Sweet: A dessert tasting expo with 25+ local pastry chefs, plus a screening of Sweet Störy, a feel-good doc set in a remote Baltic café
Closing Film: Humus
The festival ends with Humus, a powerful Québécois documentary that follows two farmers rebuilding their connection to land through regenerative practices. A post-screening discussion features local farmers using similar methods here in the Basin.
Visit www.basinfood.ca/film-fest for the full schedule, film lineup and ticket details.
Basin Food Festival – Schedule of Events
Brine & Dine – Oysters, Films and Ferments Party
Thursday, Nov. 6, 6 to 9 p.m. at Spiritbar (Hume Hotel)
$15 (oysters, food and drinks extra)
The Jungle (plus Meat Matters panel)
Friday, Nov. 7, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Shambhala Hall
$15
Food is Sacred
Friday, Nov. 7, 9 to 10:30 p.m. at Shambhala Hall
$15
Basin Food Festival & Market
Saturday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mary Hall
Free
Bite-Sized: A Short Films Showcase
Saturday, Nov. 8, 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. at Shambhala Hall
Free
Young Farmers & Diversity on Film (plus Young Farmer Dialogue)
Saturday, Nov. 8, 1 to 3 p.m. at Shambhala Hall
$10
Local is Sweet: Dessert Tasting, Talks & Film
Saturday, Nov. 8, 3 to 6 p.m. at Mary Hall
Free (dessert tasting and talks) / $15 film
Soil & Soul – Screening of the award-winning Humus and panel discussion
Saturday, Nov. 8, 7 to 9:15 p.m. at Shambhala Hall
$15
2025 Film Selections
A Nation’s Table: Anita Stewart & The Food Day Canada Story (2024, Canada, 11 min)
Amoris Pomum (2021, U.K., 4 min)
Das Pickle (2024, U.S., 20 min)
Deconstructing Dinner: Honey (2013, Canada, 24 min)
Farming While Black (2023, U.S., 75 min)
Found: The King of Matsutake Ridge (2023, U.S., 34 min)
Give and Take (2021, U.S., 11 min)
Humus (2022, Canada, 94 min) [French with English subtitles]
Mainspring Harbor: The Oyster Farmers of Block Island Sound (2024, U.S., 8 min)
More Than a Grocery Store: Kootenay Co-op 50th Anniversary Film (2025, Canada, 20 min)
Scenes in a Coq au Vin (2024, Canada, 14 min)
Sweet Störy (2025, U.S., 75 min)
The Call of the Farm: Earth Temple Gardens (2022, Canada, 5 min)
The Grace (2024, U.S., 13 min)
The Jungle (2024, U.S., 82 min)
True Local Shorts (2022–2025, Canada)
Valley Pride (2023, Austria/Germany, 15 min)
Women of the Earth: How This Indigenous Farmer is Solving Food Insecurity (2023, U.S., 16 min)
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up to MyNelsonNow News Alerts.
