Happy Earth Day! One more day to catch a food doc in our virtual lineup!

In honor of this year’s theme “Our Power, Our Planet,” how about….

Paved Paradise | Runtime: 90 mins ← BRILLIANT feature

We’ve been told organic farming is the answer. A Dutch biologist isn’t so sure. Because organic farming needs far more land to grow the same amount of food, there’s less room left for nature, and agricultural land already covers 40% of the planet’s surface. Biologist Hidde Boersma and filmmaker Karsten de Vreugd set out to investigate what a real alternative might look like. Upbeat, eye-opening, and genuinely charming. 🏆 Ceres Season 8 Best Feature.

Watch

Walking with Plants | Runtime: 23 mins

Leigh Joseph (co-director) grew up far from her ancestral lands in British Columbia. Her path back, through academic study, ethnobotany, and the plants themselves, is what this film follows. An Indigenous woman guided home by the landscape. 🏆 Ceres Season 7 Best Short.

Watch

Dune Forest | Runtime: 13 mins

Landscape architect Louis De Jaeger spends seven years transforming a barren sand dune into a thriving food forest, composting, nutrient recycling, coaxing life out of infertile ground. Gorgeous in its simplicity and so very inspiring.

Watch

School of Fish | Runtime: 19 mins

In Bristol Bay, Alaska, Indigenous people and salmon have been intertwined for thousands of years. But Pebble Mine is coming, and now the kids learning to fish from their elders also have to learn to fight for the water itself. An intimate portrait of one family.

Watch

We also invite you to browse the full program, before it disappears at midnight…

Warmly,
Maayan and the Ceres Team

This past week, we delightedly gathered across New York for screenings, conversations, and shared meals.

If you missed it, or want more, the festival continues online.

To mark ten years, we’ve brought together a retrospective of the films that stayed with us and reshaped how we think about food.

A few to start with:

The Grace: A salmon fisherwoman fights to sustain both her livelihood and the ocean she depends on, one season at a time.

Arepas en Bici: From Miami kitchens to San Francisco streets: a Venezuelan chef who found his footing through biking and cooking.

4DWN: A South Dallas skatepark becomes a lifeline—part skate hub, part urban farm, reshaping a community through food and grit.

Food Soldiers: Across West Africa, farmers and entrepreneurs confront a growing food crisis—building new systems from the ground up.

Paved Paradise: A sharp, unexpectedly funny look at biodiversity loss—and the surprising solutions hiding in plain sight.

Start watching the retrospective:

Prefer to browse first?

We put together a playlist on our YouTube channel with trailers from this season.

Browse food trailers

While we have you:

• Farm to People, who catered our MoMI reception, is offering $25 off your first Farm Box with code CERES2026.

• ACQ Bread Company, whose bread was featured at MoMI, runs a CSA. Details here.

• Katfish Salmon Co.: Kat Murphy of The Grace fishes for salmon and lingcod in Southeast Alaska using traditional hook-and-line: one fish at a time. Find her catch here.

Warmly,
Maayan and the Ceres Team

From mooncakes on Friday, to a decade of drinks at Beer Street South, to the delicious and inspiring events at MoMI and MOFAD, Season 10 has been delivering beyond what we hoped for.

But we’re not done yet.

Tonight: Rooted in Community

At UnionDocs in Ridgewood, we bring together five films about the ways food anchors neighborhoods, cultures, and lives. We’ll be pouring spirits from Acid Spirits, serving brownies, ice-cream and beautiful films and conversations.

💚💚💚 Tickets: $18 13 by using this code: ceres<3filmfood

Tickets

Tomorrow: Wild Things

At NYU Steinhardt Food Lab. We close out our in-person week with a dive into foraging, including tastings from Chef Abe Konick and Amy Rothstein of Dona Chai. This one is free.

RSVP

Two more nights! We so hope you join us.

Warmly,
Maayan and the Ceres Team

Season 10 is here. NYU Culture Fest is tomorrow; RSVPs are closed, but the festival is just getting started:

Saturday | Craft Beer | 3-5pm

Ten seasons calls for a celebration. Good people, good beer, the kind of conversation that happens when food and film people find each other. Come by.

Celebrate with us

Sunday | Hyper-local Bread | 2:30-6pm

Food, Closeup. An afternoon of short documentaries, from grains, to salmon, to caribou, and a midnight snail hunt in Taiwan, followed by a panel and reception at 4:30 with bites from Brooklyn Granary, Farm to People, and ACQ Bread Company.

Free, RSVP, First come, First Served

More next week. Until then, come find us this weekend.

Warmest,
Maayan & the Ceres Team

Season 10 opens April 10. There’s a lot below. We recommend reserving your spot, as many events are filling quickly.

Without further ado, a few tastes of what’s coming:

April 10 | Live Mooncake Demo | 1:00-3:00pm

Christine Wong has built a following by rethinking Hong Kong cuisine through a plant-based lens. Vibrant Hong Kong Table traces how grief, identity, and the rise in anti-Asian hate pushed Christine deeper into her roots. After the screening, she’ll be in the room (mooncakes, live) and in conversation with Jenny Berg (Chair, Dept. of Nutrition and Food Studies) on food, identity, and tradition.

RSVP for Free

Here’s a look at Christine’s energy:

April 11 | New York Craft Beer Day | 3:00-5:00pm

Our happy hour at Beer Street South happens to fall on the 2nd annual New York Craft Beer Day. Who knew! But it’s true. Join us in a room full of good people worth meeting.

RSVP so we know you’re coming.

April 12 | Getting granular on local grains | 2:30-6:00pm

Bread, made from grain you can trace. Following the screenings at MoMI, Michael Robinov (Co-Founder, Farm to People) and Tyler Lee Steinbrenner (Founder, ACQ Bread Company) join Qiana Mickie (Executive Director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture) for a conversation on local grains and sustainability.

RSVP *note first come, first served

Here’s a taste of Tyler’s philosophy:

April 13 | Migration on screen, arepas in the room. | 7:00-10:00pm

One of our all-time favorite shorts will be screening at MOFAD: Arepas en Bici follows a Venezuelan chef cycling across San Francisco, carrying memory, migration, and a business in motion. Included: drinks, arepas, access to MOFAD’s current exhibition on New York City street food, and connecting with good people.

A few spots left

April 14 | A bakery, a hiring model, a neighborhood | 7:30-10:00pm

Zen Brownie, narrated by Jeff Bridges, tells the story of a Yonkers bakery built on one principle: hire anyone who shows up. It’s a simple idea with real consequences for work, dignity, and community.

The night expands into tracing how food connects to climate and sovereignty (Seaweed Stories), alongside films rooted in Ridgewood (Ice Cream Window and Barriga Llena, Corazón Contento).

Tickets

April 15 | Foraging, and the person who knows all about it | 7:00pm-10:00pm

Found: The King of Matsutake Ridge follows chef Philip Manganaro into landscapes most people never see. He’ll be there, in conversation with mushroom expert Leigh Ollman. Included: screenings, tastings by Acid Spirits, bites by Chef Abe Konick and Hieu Huynh, chai tea by Dona Chai, and good people.

Free, limited spots, RSVP

Warmly,
Maayan and the Ceres Team

PS: The virtual festival follows April 16-22; more on that soon.

🍭 If you're not following us yet: Instagram

Dear Friends,

Ten years in, this season traces the stories, systems, and communities that shape how we eat. We invite you into a series of intimate, limited-capacity gatherings:

April 10 | Screening + Live Mooncake Demo

We open at NYU with a screening of the Vibrant Hong Kong Table, directed by Liza de Guia, following James Beard–nominated chef and cookbook author Christine Wong as she reimagines Hong Kong cuisine through a plant-based lens. Presented in collaboration with NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies and the NYU SPS Tisch Center of Hospitality, the afternoon brings together film, scholarship, and hands-on culinary practice. Wong joins for a conversation with Jenny Berg, Chair of Nutrition and Food Studies at NYU Steinhardt, followed by a live mooncake demo and tasting. Free, open to all.

Register

🍻 April 11 | Industry Happy Hour

An informal industry afternoon gathering at Beer Street South, a spacious, light-filled bar known for its rotating selection of small-batch and hard-to-find beers. Filmmakers, producers, and food people in conversation in the same room. Co-hosted with our friends at Slow Food NYC.

RSVP

April 12 | Food, Closeup at MoMI + Reception

At the Museum of the Moving Image, MoMI, Food, Closeup unfolds as part of the museum’s Open Worlds program.

Four short documentaries explore how we grow, harvest, and sustain what we eat, from urban wheat to Indigenous foodways, caribou herds, and small-scale fishing.

Stay for a conversation moderated by Qiana Mickie, Executive Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture, with Michael Robinov, Co-Founder and CEO of Farm to People.

Reception to follow with focaccia from Brooklyn Granary & Mill (working exclusively with regional grains to revive local milling traditions), alongside a spread from Farm to People featuring seasonal crudités, hummus, and bread from She Wolf and Knead Love. MoMI’s cafe will be open for a casual happy hour.

Free, Registration required

April 13 | MOFAD: Food, Film, & Migration + Tastings

We return to the Museum of Food and Drink, MOFAD, where guests will also have the chance to explore the museum’s current exhibition on New York City’s food vendors and street food culture, alongside tasty bites and drinks throughout the evening.

The evening centers on food as movement, migration, and memory. Featuring Arepas en Bici — one of our favorite films! — and Birria Landia, profiling the Queens-based food truck by brothers José and Jesús Moreno that became a defining force in New York’s taco scene.

Followed by a conversation with Krishnendu Ray, a leading food studies scholar and author of The Ethnic Restaurateur; Sarah K. Khan, an interdisciplinary artist and researcher working at the intersection of migration, identity, and food systems; and chef Esneider Arevalo (Culinary Backstreets), who leads food tours through Jackson Heights and Corona, sharing the immigrant food cultures of Queens.

Tickets | $30

April 14 | UnionDocs: Films, Community, & Conversation

In Ridgewood, we partner with UnionDocs and Push Projects for an evening of films and conversation exploring how food operates as culture, infrastructure, and memory.

The program includes Zen Brownie, narrated by Jeff Bridges, telling the story of Greyston Bakery, whose brownies are famously used in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and its pioneering open hiring model; Seaweed Stories, narrated by Forest Whitaker, on seaweed’s role in climate and sovereignty; Barriga Llena, Corazón Contento, rooted in a Ridgewood food pantry shaped by migration and care; alongside Ice Cream Window, capturing neighborhood ritual, and Guguta, a meditation on memory and inheritance.

The evening concludes with a conversation featuring Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg and Natalia Fuentes of Barriga Llena, Corazón Contento, moderated by Molly Surno, founder of Push Projects.

A tasting from Acid Spirits, known for vacuum-distilled botanical spirits made from upcycled ingredients, rounds out the night.

Tickets | $18

April 15 | Wild Things: Foraging, Fungi, & Tastings

At NYU Steinhardt, Wild Things closes the season with an evening devoted to foraging, fungi, and the people who spend their lives listening to the land at the NYU Food Lab.

The program features Found: The King of Matsutake Ridge, with chef and forager Philip Manganaro, alongside Dune Forest and Rice and Grits by filmmaker and NYU Food Studies alum Hieu Huynh, whose work explores culinary identity and inheritance. A conversation follows with Philip Manganaro and mushroom expert and food systems advocate Leigh Ollman.

The evening features tasty bites inspired by the evening’s films prepared by the lovely chef Abe Konick, MasterChef: Legends finalist, alongside beverages from Dona Chai, a New York–based, small-batch chai company known for direct sourcing and traditional brewing methods, and tastings by Joe McDowell of Acid Spirits.

Free, RSVP required

Highlights include:

A Venezuelan chef cycling across San Francisco with arepas and a dream. Two brothers from Puebla who turned a Queens food truck into a New York institution. (Arepas en Bici, Birria Landia)

Sheffield residents asking the most radical question imaginable: what if a city grew its own wheat? (Grain City)

The Tłı̨chǫ people, the Bathurst caribou herd, down from half a million to fewer than ten thousand, and what disappears with them. (K’ÒK’ÈTÌ: Walking with Caribou)

Jeff Bridges narrates the story of a Yonkers bakery run by Buddhist monks on a simple principle: hire anyone who shows up. (Zen Brownie)

Chef and forager Philip Manganaro, hunting matsutake mushrooms in secret. (Found: The King of Matsutake Ridge)

Explore the full lineup and reserve

Warmly,
Maayan and the Ceres Team

April is coming, and so is Ceres.

After nine seasons in the fall, Season 10 opens this spring: April 10–15 in New York City, followed by a week of virtual programming April 16–22.

This year is a soft opening: a curated program drawn from nine seasons of Ceres films, placed in new rooms with new conversations.

Six Events

The week takes us across the city: NYU in Washington Square, Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Astoria, the Museum of Food & Drink (MOFAD) in Brooklyn, UnionDocs in Ridgewood, and a celebratory happy hour at Beer Street South in Brooklyn for Ceres friends, old and new.

The schedule is live and growing ★

Films, panels, and all tickets releasing in the coming weeks. For now, you can snag a ticket to MOFAD. Did anyone say Arepas?

View the program →

New on YouTube: Grazed Right

In the meantime, this one is worth your Friday.

Grazed Right, dir. Ben Hemmings, follows environmentalist ranchers in Alberta bucking tradition and adopting regenerative practices, looking to cattle farming not as a climate problem but as part of the solution, preserving North America’s endangered native grasslands in the process.

Watch it here

Warmly,
Maayan and the Ceres Team

Happy New Year!

We have news. Ceres is moving to spring.

After nine seasons in the fall, Season 10 will soft open in April 2026 - a season of emergence, openness, and new growth. Our tenth year of stories worth telling. We’re excited to meet you there.

Programming and dates coming soon. The thrill! ✨

Fresh on YouTube

While we’re gearing up for spring, we’ve been adding films to The Ceres Collection on YouTube - bringing some of our favorite festival discoveries to your screen.

Two recent additions we’re excited to share:

Great Wall (dir. Rioin Oshiro) - This 2024 James Beard Award winner follows a Chinese-American woman from two generations of restaurant owners who discovers her true calling opening a dim sum restaurant. It’s slow, gorgeous filmmaking - the kind that lets you sink into a place and its people, exploring the weight of family expectations and finding your own path.

Grandma’s Food (dir. Luisa Macedo) - Two grandmothers: one left behind a recipe notebook, the other kept recipes in her head. Through their memories, the director explores social and racial inequality, gender, food, and what gets written down versus what gets remembered.

Each film in the Collection explores the complex role food plays in our lives - from culture and identity to climate and community. We’re here to share storytelling that stays with you ❤️

Ceres Collection on YouTube

Ceres Filmmaker Residency | Costa Rica

Ceres alum filmmakers are invited to enter for a chance to win a free residency at Toji Nature Retreat in Costa Rica: a space dedicated to food sovereignty, regenerative community models, and time spent paying attention.

The dates of the retreat will run May 17–23, 2026. For applicants with additional time, the residency may include an extended stay in Toji’s tree house, offering space to observe the surrounding nature reserve and community while gathering ideas and inspiration.

Toji’s Dos Colinas community is the first expression of its OG Villages model, blending indigenous practices and permaculture with contemporary innovation to support realistic, sustainable development. Filmmakers interested in eco-villages and movements toward sovereignty are especially encouraged to apply.

Free to enter. One filmmaker will be selected and will receive a partial travel credit.

Learn more and apply here

With warmth and gratitude,

Maayan and the Ceres Team

Happy Thursday! The holidays are here, and we’re in the mood to gather.

🥂 Holiday Happy Hour at Farm.One

Thursday, December 18th | 6-8pm Farm.One | 625 Bergen St, Brooklyn, NY 11238

Join us on Thursday, December 18th from 6-8pm for a cosy, casual Ceres holiday happy hour hang at the beautiful Farm.One (625 Bergen St, Brooklyn, NY 11238). This is an open invitation to everyone in the Ceres community and to friends of the festival. All are welcome, so come grab a drink, bring a friend and say hi!

If you haven’t been to Farm.One, you’re in for a treat. It’s an indoor hydroponic farm and bar in Brooklyn, growing unique herbs and edible plants for chefs and drink-makers. Think: hidden gem vibes, beautiful greenery, and a perfect spot to unwind.

We’ll have Ceres goodies to raffle off throughout the evening - tote bags, wine, beer, and a few other delicious surprises.

And if you’re feeling competitive, Farm.One’s trivia starts at 7pm, so stick around after happy hour and join the fun.

We’d love to see you there. 🙂

New in The Ceres Collection

Our latest Ceres Collection release is From the Heartland (dir Matt Coddaire) - a Ceres staff favorite documentary about two brothers in rural Minnesota facing a crossroads after a devastating flood: adopt sustainable farming practices, or continue the traditions passed down through generations.

It’s a meditation on American agriculture, rural community, and the weight of history on the land we farm. Matt Coddaire’s work is stunning - slow, gorgeous filmmaking that lets you sink into a place and its people.

Watch it here

As always, if any of this sparks thoughts or questions, hit reply! We love hearing from you.

Warmly,

Maayan and the Ceres Team

Happy Friday! Hope you’ve been enjoying the fall and we can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week. (We’ll be sharing some thoughts on food waste next week…)

Today we’re excited to share what we’ve been working on: one conversation from this year’s festival is now live on YouTube, The Ceres Collection on Youtube, plus a special collaboration we think you’ll love.

The Future of Food Media panel

We just posted one of the best conversations from this year’s festival: our Future of Food Media panel with Chris Morocco (Bon Appétit), Priyanka Naik (chef, author, TV personality), and Jaeki Cho (Righteous Eats), moderated by journalist Gabriella Lewis. *More on the panelists below*

If you couldn’t make it to the festival, this is a pretty perfect window into what the weekend felt like: smart people, honest conversations, and discussions on all things food.

Food media is changing fast. TikTok trends, streaming platforms, creator-led brands, AI tools, etc - the list impacting the landscape is long. We wanted to bring together people who are living this shift every day to talk about:

• What audiences actually want to ingest right now

• How creators navigate authenticity vs. algorithms

• The responsibilities of representing cultures not your own

• The future of test kitchens and creator platforms

• How digital communities are reshaping the industry

The conversation was scintillating, insightful, and entertaining - truly better than we imagined.

Watch it here

Introducing The Ceres Collection

We’re also launching something new: The Ceres Collection, our curated collection of food films from past seasons available to stream on YouTube.

Our first release is Das Pickle (19 min, dir Eric Treml) - a documentary about a German immigrant pickle-making family in Los Angeles navigating the American Dream through climate change, gentrification, and COVID.

It’s the kind of story we love at Ceres: intimate, layered, and deeply human.

Watch Das Pickle here

The MPM × Ceres Box: Where Good Taste Meets Good Impact

This is the limited-edition box we gave to our Spirit Award winners this year, curated with My Portuguese Market. Inside: a Ceres tote, Jacobsen Salt Co. travel tin, Castelbel sardine bamboo brush & dish soap set, J.Brody walnut spatula, Ceres dishcloth, and Flying Wish Paper set.

Now you can get one too. With every purchase, 10% goes directly to Ceres, helping us continue to showcase powerful stories about food, culture, and sustainability from around the world.

Get yours here

If any of this sparks thoughts or questions, hit reply! We love hearing from you.

With gratitude,
Maayan and the Ceres Team

More about the panelists:

Chris Morocco: Test Kitchen Director at Bon Appétit, host of Reverse Engineering, and one of the most influential recipe developers working today.

Priyanka Naik: Vegan chef, author, TV personality, and a bold advocate for climate-forward cooking and cultural storytelling.

Jaeki Cho: Creator of Righteous Eats, a series spotlighting immigrant food culture across NYC and beyond, merging food, identity, and community.

Gabriella Lewis (moderator): Journalist and culture writer whose work examines the deeper forces shaping how we think about food and media.

Watch the Future of Food Media

Reflecting back on Ceres Season 9, we’re so moved by all the in-person gatherings, the heartfelt conversations, and the chance to meet so many people deeply involved in the industry and passionate about food and sustainability. We also feel incredibly lucky to be able to curate and share the incredible selection of films that graced our festival this year. Thank you to all for making this year’s festival what it was.

Here’s a taste of our favorite moments from Season 9:

Inside Ceres Season 9

And because we know you loved dancing to the tunes you heard (or just need something to cook to), we’re sharing our curated Spotify cooking playlist for your enjoyment:

Listen Here on Spotify

A few things coming up, all soon:

Ceres Conversations

We’re releasing the festival panels on YouTube over the next few weeks. Roundtable discussions on everything from regenerative agriculture to the future of food media. Stay tuned.

Costa Rica is on the horizon

We’re opening a call for Ceres alum filmmakers to attend a retreat soon, and let’s just say... pura vida vibes are very real. Stay on the lookout!

Holiday Happy Hour

In December to close out the season. Date and details coming soon, but save some room on your calendar.

Thank you for being part of our community.

With gratitude,

Maayan and the Ceres team

We’re carrying so much warmth from the moments we shared this past weekend!

If you’re missing it already, we have two pieces of good news:

1. Our virtual festival continues through October 26 featuring nearly all 70 films from this season, including Award winners!

2. One last gathering tonight!

More below :)

VIRTUAL | All-you-can-watch Food Docs

BEST SHORT | Food Soldiers - dir. Alessia Barbiero

SPECIAL JURY AWARD | 4DWN - dir. Danny J. Schmidt

VISUAL STORYTELLING | The Chef & The Daruma - dir. Mads K. Baekkevold

FOOD JUSTICE | HASIK - dir. Mandy Qua & Marissa Mejia

…And many more

Virtual Watch Site

TONIGHT | One Last Gathering @Farm to People

We have one final in-person event, and we’d love for you to join us.

Join us for our final in-person gathering of the season, in partnership with our friends at Farm to People. They’ve been with us all season, bringing gorgeous produce and inspiration to our venues. Tonight, we’ll be screening The Big Raise, a documentary following BBC journalist Alexis Rowell and his partner, Blanche Lepetit, as they leave London to build a permaculture farm and learning center in France from scratch. Take a sneak peak here.

After the film, Martin Ping (Executive Director of Hawthorne Valley) will lead a conversation about farming, land, and community. Martin has been at Hawthorne Valley for more than 30 years, serving in roles from High School practical arts teacher to Director of Facilities, and now Executive Director.

Hawthorne Valley works to reconnect people, place, and purpose through farming, education, and community - a perfect partner for exploring life on the land!

Tuesday, October 21 | 6 - 9 PM
Film starts at 6:30 PM, runtime: 40 mins, French w/ English subtitles
Farm to People | 1100 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11237

Get tickets

Thank you for being part of this season. Whether you join us tonight or stream from wherever you are, we’re grateful you’re here.

Warmest,
The Ceres Team

Season 9 just wrapped tonight. Thank you for joining our table and for making this festival what it is.

Here are the winners:

Jury Award Winners:

BEST FEATURE
Blank Plate: Creating the Best Restaurant in the World - dir. Alan Fàbregas & Ramon Pardina

BEST SHORT
Food Soldiers - dir. Alessia Barbiero

SPECIAL JURY AWARD
4DWN - dir. Danny J. Schmidt

Spirit Award Winners:

These encompass the spirit of the Ceres festival and its mission

VISUAL STORYTELLING
The Chef & The Daruma - dir. Mads K. Baekkevold

FOOD JUSTICE
HASIK - dir. Mandy Qua & Marissa Mejia

SUSTAINABLE FUTURES
The Little Things That Run the World - Doug Hawes-Davis & Drury Carr

One More Night: Farm to People | Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

What does it take to start a farm when you’ve never farmed before?

​Join us and find out on Tuesday, October 21st, for our last event for this festival season, in partnership with our friends at Farm to People. They’ve been with us all season (all that gorgeous produce decorating our venues!) and we’re screening The Big Raise, a documentary following BBC journalist Alexis Rowell and his partner, Blanche Lepetit, as they leave London to build a permaculture farm and learning center in France from scratch.

After the film, Martin Ping (Executive Director of Hawthorne Valley) joins us to talk about farming as education, the relationship between soil and community, and what it means to work with the land rather than against it.

📅 Tuesday, October 21 | 6 - 9 PM
Film starts at 6:30 PM
📍 Farm to People — 1100 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn

​**Film runtime: 40 minutes, French with English subtitles

Get Tickets Now

Thank you for celebrating with us! See you Tuesday!

Warmest,

The Ceres Team

Dear Friends,

We just released additional capacity for all today’s programs at Symphony Space!

Here’s what’s happening:

Journeys into factory farming, sustainability, and resilience. Short films about NYC with local filmmakers. A behind-the-scenes look at Disfrutar’s (Barcelona) rise to World’s Best Restaurant. A regenerative agriculture block with Kiss the Ground and Stone Barns. And we close with bugs! The Little Things That Run the World, exploring the urgent decline of insects, the glue of life on Earth.

Plus, the 2025 Ceres Awards and wrap party!

Use code CERESFRIENDS for a $5/all day pass.

$5 Tickets

See you uptown!

Maayan Laufer, Festival Director, & the Ceres Team

We had an unforgettable opening night of the 9th season of the Ceres Food Film Festival…! We were thrilled to partner once again with NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies as well as the Department of Music and Performing Arts, for a night that celebrated the intersection of sound, storytelling, and culture.

/ TODAY @ POSH (Soho) /

Today, we’ve been enjoying a beautiful immersive program at Posh and we’ve loved seeing you with us again !

/ SUNDAY • OCT 19 • SYMPHONY SPACE | 10 AM - 10:30 PM /

Last day! Join us for a full day of screenings and panels, culminating in the 2025 Ceres Awards Ceremony and Wrap Party!

Use code CERESFRIENDS for a $5 day pass - tickets available here!

Warmest,

Maayan Laufer, Festival Director, and the Ceres Team

Happy World Food Day! The 9th Annual Ceres Food Film Festival is officially underway: in-person in NYC from today, Thursday, through Sunday, plus ten days of virtual screenings you can enjoy from anywhere.

We’re so excited to share what we’ve been preparing since last season.

/ THURSDAY • OCT 16 • OPENING NIGHT + VIRTUAL ACCESS /

Opening Night will bring together breathtaking films, live music, and conversation about how sound shapes storytelling.

And tonight is just the beginning. With your registration for this event, you also have access to the majority of our nearly seventy documentary films screening virtually through October 26.

🎬 Start Watching Online →

/ FRIDAY • OCT 17 • INDUSTRY HOUR AT LULA MAE, BROOKLYN /

Join us for a relaxed evening with friends, filmmakers, and festival partners.
From 5:00–8:00 PM, enjoy complimentary bites and specially priced drinks at Lula Mae, surrounded by lush velvet at one of our favorite spots in Brooklyn.

rsvp

/ SATURDAY • OCT 18 • ALL DAY FOOD MARKET, SCREENINGS, PANELS IN SOHO /

Our All-Day Feast of Food & Film brings together tastemakers, creators, and food media voices:

🍷 1st Annual Ceres Food Market + Tastings
🎤 Future of Food Media Panel with Chris Morocco (Bon Appétit), Priyanka Naik (Food Network), and Jaeki Cho
🎬 Screenings & Conversations throughout the day

🎟️ All-Day Pass $40

/ SUNDAY • OCT 19 • SYMPHONY SPACE | 10 AM – 10:30 PM /

We’re closing out the festival with our biggest day yet: a full lineup of films, panels, and conversations that explore how food connects us all.

Join us at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, NYC) anytime between 10:00 AM and 10:30 PM — or spend the whole day with us for just $20 with an All-Day Pass!

Here’s what’s cooking:

🍽️ 10:00AM | Eating the Future: a thought-provoking dive into innovation, ethics, and appetite in the race to feed the planet. Followed by a Q&A with Four Paws, including goodies and beverages, courtesy of Four Paws.

🌾 11:15 AM | The New Peasants: rediscover ancestral farming wisdom and what it means to live in harmony with the land. **Winner of Best Environmental Documentary at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival

🎥 12:30 PM | Local Stories, Shorts Block: A celebration of flavor, culture, and community, with filmmakers in conversation led by Qiana Mickie, NYC’s Director of Urban Agriculture.

🐄 2:00 PM | Rowdy Girl : the moving true story of a Texas cattle ranch turned vegan sanctuary. Followed by a discussion with director Jason Goldman, chef Alex (The New Baguette), and Tamar Arslanian (Flirting with Vegan) on transformation, food, and compassion.

🍴3:50 PM | Blank Plate: An inside look at the creative process behind the world’s most ambitious kitchen. ** Finalist film, Ceres 2025**

🌱 5:20 PM | Regeneration and Resilience: Exploring renewal, ecology, and care in a changing climate. Panel Introduction by Evan Harrison; moderated by Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan with Michael Pirson and Andrew Luzmore, Stone Barns. Co-presented by Kiss the Ground.

🏆 6:50 PM: The Little Things That Run the World: A sweeping look at the vital role of insects in our ecosystems and the people fighting to protect them.

Followed by Q&A with filmmakers and Ceres Closing Ceremony & Awards! We’ll honor this season’s remarkable filmmakers and the stories that inspire change.

✨ Whether you come for a film or stay for the whole day, don’t miss this joyful celebration of food, storytelling, and community.

All-You-Can-Watch Day Pass, $20

👉 Or reserve a seat for a single block here.

Whether you join us in person or online, this season is a joyful celebration of food, storytelling, and the ways they bring us together.

With love,
The Ceres Team

The 9th Annual Ceres Food Film Festival is almost here. This October, we invite you to explore food, film, and ideas across New York City.

Thursday, October 16 – Opening Night at NYU

We’re especially excited to open with extraordinary partners at NYU Steinhardt. The night opens with live musical performances from NYU set to archival footage, followed by screenings and a conversation that explore the intersection of music and food. Stay for an immersive culinary reception!

Saturday, October 18 – All-Day Festival + Food Market in Soho

We’re teaming up with Posh for a full day of screenings, tastings, and conversation. This isn’t your typical market: taste, watch, and learn with people who care deeply about food, storytelling, and our shared future. Meet Priyanka Naik (Food Network), Chris Morocco (Bon Appétit), Jaeki Cho (Righteous Eats), and Gina Bruno (Campers) in intimate discussions about craft and culture.

Plus, sample chickpea bread from Faina, fresh Challah by Hannah, Tuscan olive oil from Bea, and handcrafted truffles by Jenny Alpert. Enjoy demos with Natoora and GUS Mushrooms, and discover creative projects like Off Menu Magazine and Produce Party, which are redefining how food culture is shared.

Get Tickets | Saturday Festival + Market

Sunday, October 19 – A Day of Films & Conversations at Symphony Space

We close our ninth season with a full day of screenings and dialogue. From hidden food systems and family farms to cultural rituals, culinary innovation, and the fragile ecosystems that sustain us, these films illuminate the diverse stories behind what we eat.

Highlights include:

• Journeys into factory farming, sustainability, and resilience (Eating the Future, The New Peasants, Rowdy Girl).

• Short films on local food and memory, and on regeneration in a changing climate.

• A behind-the-scenes look at Disfrutar’s rise to “World’s Best Restaurant.”

• Closing Night with The Little Things That Run the World, exploring the urgent decline of insects, the “glue of life” on Earth.

Join us for the full day of screenings and conversations - $40 for all programs, or $17 for individual screening blocks. *To reserve an individual program, use code CERES9 at checkout and email us at films@ceresfilmfest.org with the program you’d like to attend.

Get Tickets | Sunday Screenings

Join us for a weekend of films, flavors, and ideas!

We can’t wait to share this October with you.

Warmly,
Maayan, Festival Director, & the Ceres Team

Dear Friends,

We're thrilled to share the 2025 Ceres Food Film Festival film lineup and schedule.

This year, we're bringing together three days of in-person programming across NYC, alongside our virtual film festival, so you can always join us wherever you are.

Here's what's ahead:

Opening Night @ NYU | Thursday, October 16

Loewe Theater | 5:45pm - 10:00pm

An evening of films, live music, and conversation, concluding with Korean food tastings and demos at the NYU Test Kitchen. The night features performances from NYU musicians and a conversation moderated by Jennifer Berg, Chair NYU's Dept of Nutrition and Food Studies.

For tickets: This event is by invitation only. To be added to the guest list, please email us at hq@ceresfilmfest.org to receive an access code to reserve your spot. We would love to see you there.

Ceres All Day @ POSH | Saturday, October 18

Soho | 12:00pm -11:00pm

A full-day celebration where film meets food! Here's how the day unfolds:

The day kicks off at 12pm with a feature film screening and Welcome Lunch, followed by Ceres' First Annual Food Market from 2-4pm. We are delighted to introduce our favorite local vendors and makers to the Ceres community. Come grab a coffee and sample everything from artisanal olive oil to fresh challah and so much more. Then:

4:00 pm - Join some of the most respected food creators in conversation on the Future of Food Media and stay for Happy Hour with drinks provided by Dio.

6:30 pm - Join us for our cornerstone screening of short films For the Love of Craft and intimate conversation hosted by Gina Bruno (Camper's)

9:00 pm - Afterparty with drinks and dancing

We can’t wait for this full day of celebrating films, chefs, farmers, creators, and so much more!

Buy Saturday All-Day Pass

***We are offering early bird pricing for the next two weeks.

Ceres Sunday @ Symphony Space | Sunday, October 19

Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater | 10:00am - 9:00pm

A day of films and conversations on food, agriculture, and climate, including local filmmakers and the NYC premiere of The Little Things That Run the World. The evening concludes with the 2025 Ceres Awards Ceremony.

Browse the full Sunday film lineup here.

***A ticket link will be live very soon.

💻 Virtual Festival | Oct 16–26

Dozens of films will be available to stream worldwide - free and accessible to all.

Register Here

🎟️ Festival Pass

We encourage everyone to purchase a Festival Pass, which gives you access to Saturday at POSH, Sunday at Symphony Space, and the full Virtual Festival.

Early Bird Festival Pass $70

**Don't miss out - Early Bird Pricing is available for the next two weeks only.

We can't wait to see you soon for this season's celebration of food, film, and community.

With gratitude,

The Ceres Team

Mark your calendars for October 16-19, 2025.

The 9th season of the Ceres Food Film Festival is arriving in New York City, and we have deepened our roots into the food scene of the city!

We're spreading across the city: from NYU's classic Frederick Loewe Theater to a spacious Soho loft, from Symphony Space on the Upper West Side to wherever we land for our industry happy hour. We’re crafting four days that may very well shift how you see your next meal.

As always, we're both hyper-local and intimately global. We’ll host screenings, conversations, and shared meal in NYC. And also close to 70 films streaming free during our virtual festival (October 16-26) for anyone, anywhere who wants to join the conversation.

More details:

October 16 | Opening Night @ NYU
NYU Loewe Theater | 6:00 -10:00 PM

We're starting with live performances from NYU's Music and Performing Arts students, archival footage, film premieres, and a culinary reception featuring dishes inspired by the filmmakers we're celebrating. This invitation-only evening launches everything in style. (Email hq@ceresfilmfest.org for the invite access code.)

October 17 | Industry Happy Hour
Location TBA | Evening

Filmmakers, producers, and food media innovators gather to exchange ideas over small bites and craft cocktails. Plus raffle prizes you really will want to win.

October 18 | All Day @ POSH
40 Crosby St, Soho | 12:00 - 11:00 PM

We are so excited to present a dream that has taken a year to blossom and a passionate team to make into a reality - the full Ceres experience. A local food market, stimulating conversations such as Future of Food Media with Bon Appétit and the art of craft in food with Camper's Gina Bruno, curated film blocks, and a dance party to close it out.

October 19 | Festival Sunday @ Symphony Space
2537 Broadway | 10:00-8:00 PM

Come for one, stay for many. We’re pleased to have several world premieres, stunning thematic shorts, filmmaker conversations, and the 2025 Ceres Awards Ceremony at the iconic theater in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

We thank our partners including NYU Steinhardt, POSH, Symphony Space and others share our vision of food to make this possible.

Here’s a taste:

Check out our Features and Shorts playlists on YouTube, that our producer Jacob beautifully put together, to see trailers from this year's selection.

We strive to be the place where film supports food consciousness. We work to better understand the systems that feed us and the stories that connect us all.

We look forward to this October, and to seeing you there. Be on the lookout for our full schedule and tickets soon!

Maayan & the Ceres team
Co-Founder & Festival Director

I believe a single film can reach your soul like nothing else can. When filmmakers dedicate their craft to stories that shift how we think and live, I see it as a tremendous gift and responsibility.

This Sunday, I’ll be in the adorable town of Red Bank, NJ speaking on the panel Filmmaking for Good, part of the programming curated by our friends at the Indie Street Film Festival.

Two lovely films will be showing that day:

🎬 A Vital Sun by Alison Bartlett (Tribeca Environmental Impact Award winner): the remarkable story of transforming barren Egyptian desert into thriving biodynamic farmland. Alison joins our panel too. A Vital Sun will also be part of Ceres Season 9!

🎬 Farming While Black by Mark Decena: A favorite from our Ceres season last year, this powerful documentary examines Black farmers reclaiming their rightful place on the land.

Event details

📍 Where: Basie Center Cinemas

📅 When: Sunday, August 24 | 1:30pm - 2:15 PM

🎬 Includes: Access to the full short doc programming

🎟️ Ceres Discount: We would love to see you there! Tickets available now 20% off using code CERES20.

Get your tix

Also: if you’re not already following us on Instagram, you’ll want to!

We’ve been having fun diving into food scenes that make our mouths water, including our latest series Summer Scenes, where we kicked things off with an iconic BBQ moment from The Sopranos. We’ve also been sharing highlights in our Food Scenes We Love posts, including the iconic Japanese feast Tampopo (1985) by Juzo Itami.

Hope to see you in Red Bank this Sunday!

With excitement,
Maayan

Festival Director, Ceres Food Film Festival