In the ancient Greek myths, ambrosia is the food or drink of the Greek gods, conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was with ambrosia Hera “cleansed all defilement from her lovely flesh”, and with ambrosia Athena prepared Penelope in her sleep, so that when she appeared for the final time before her suitors, the effects of years had been stripped away, and they were inflamed with passion at the sight of her.
The consumption of ambrosia was typically reserved for divine beings. In the Odyssey and the Iliad, Homer uses the word ambrosia for three things: the food of the Olympians, a salve used to treat corpses, and as a perfume to cover up the smell of uncured seal skins. Regardless of all this confusion, the word is now used metaphorically to mean anything so fragrant, so delicious that it seems divine “delightful food and drink“.
Food and drink is a necessity of life, right? We are what we eat – mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. We live in a world of extremes with food starvation on one side to gluttony on the other. And yet there are those who live with abundance at their fingertips and the means to healthy and delicious meals yet chose to feast on empty nutrition. Small things can and do bring joy. Foodie loves both the simplicity and complexity of food and drink, respects food, eats mindfully, give thanks for every bite or sip, curious to know how food is prepared, preserved, and planted, always on the lookout to learn, grow, share, and serve.
Ambrosia Food & Drink Film Festival solely dedicated to films focused on food and drink, as well as those films, where food and drink is an important part of the synopsis (or may be for one memorable scene). We admit short and feature films, animation, documentary, web series, music video, how-to cooking and recipe video and commercials with, or about food/drink, cuisine, cooking, baking, restaurants, cafes, pubs, eating, drinking, tasting and/or meals, wine, tea, coffee and soft drinks, delicious dishes from upmarket restaurant with famous chef, fast food, vegetarian food, healthy food, simple food and street food.
Not all creators of food and drink films are necessarily the professionals, who work in the movies industry or on television. This is just a hobby for the majority of contestants. However, this does not mean that their films are worse. The original story that is told in the film plays a far more important role than its budget or the awards of its creator. You can make a good film even if you do not have a large budget, stellar cast and a large production team. You hold the keys to the kingdom. Go ahead!
All officially selecte9d films will be shown on the big screen during the solemn final ceremony on October 12 – 13, 2024 in Moscow, Russia, and will be able to struggle for the main prize and the title of the “Best Food & Drink Film”. As well as for the prizes in the standalone nominations.
Awards & prizes
Best Feature Film
Best Short Film
Best Animated Short
Best Feature Documentary
Best Short Documentary
Best TV Pilot/Web Series Episode
Best Music Video
Best Commercials
Best Mobile New Media
Best AI-generated Film
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Our team
Festival President Valery Shanin
Valery Shanin — journalist, writer and filmmaker, TV producer, director of “Valery Shanin’s film club”, president of international film festivals.
Festival Director Irina Spirina
Head of Programming Slava Krasko
Slava was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, made a career as a financier and when he was 35 years old left the business to go on a round-the-world trip. He described his impressions of the trip in the book “The Year of Spring”. In 2014, Slava traveled by motorcycle across South America on the route of Ernesto Che Guevara and shot a documentary about it. Since 2017 he has been studying at the Higher Courses of Scriptwriters and Directors in Moscow.
Film Festival Development Manager Alina Fedulova
A graduate of the Faculty of Journalism at Saint Petersburg State University (SPbGU) with a specialization in “International Journalism”. At the film festival, she coordinates participants and develops partnerships. As a digital nomad, she combines traveling the world with organizing various international film festivals.