Calorie Film Festival 2026: Films On Food, Culture, & Community

The Bangalore International Centre is hosting the Calorie Film Festival on 11th and 12th April, a thoughtfully curated programme that explores the many ways food permeates everyday life. Moving beyond the idea of food as mere sustenance, the festival examines how it acts as a powerful cultural force: shaping identities, traditions, and shared experiences.

By centering the idea of “food as fuel,” not just in a nutritional sense but as something that nourishes relationships and communities, the festival highlights how meals can become moments of connection. Through film, it invites audiences to reflect on how food brings people together, fosters belonging, and plays an essential role in building and sustaining social bonds.

With 12 films across 11 languages, spanning documentaries, animated shorts, and narrative features, the programming moves fluidly between the intimate and the systemic, asking viewers to consider what lies behind the everyday act of eating.

The opening day sets the tone with The Great Indian Kitchen, Jeo Baby’s searing critique of gendered domestic labour. Through the repetitive rhythms of cooking and cleaning, the film reveals how food practices are deeply embedded within structures of patriarchy and control. A post-screening discussion with the filmmaker and writer Nilanjana Sengupta extends this inquiry, positioning the kitchen as both a site of invisibility and resistance.

From there, the festival expands outward in both form and geography with animated shorts like Ajja Ajji – Pickle and Dinner for Few capture the emotional and political undercurrents of food through visual storytelling, while Sweet Plastik draws attention to the often-overlooked environmental cost of consumption, where even something as simple as a sweet is inseparable from its plastic wrapping. Perhaps one of the most powerful entries is Against the Tide by Sarvnik Kaur, which follows two Koli fishermen navigating ecological and economic precarity. The film, which won the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival, underscores how food systems are inseparable from environmental crises and fragile livelihoods. 

Day two continues this layered exploration, beginning with Colonies in Conflict, which traces the life of migratory rock bees across urban and rural India. The film highlights how food ecosystems are shaped by human intervention, and how even pollinators become contested presences. Discussions with filmmaker Rajani Mani and ecologist Geetha G Thimmegowda open up urgent questions about coexistence and sustainability.

Beyond screenings, the festival extends into participatory spaces. From Tasty Tales, a food-themed reading nook, to Achaar Archives, where visitors can contribute personal pickle recipes, these installations foreground food as something lived and shared. Even lighter moments, like food-themed karaoke and board games, are woven into the programming, reinforcing that food should be a joyous experience.

The Calorie Film Festival charts what it really takes for food to arrive on your plate. It closely examines labour, land, memory, and movement, and makes it clear that every meal carries a story far larger than itself.

The Calorie Film Festival has free entry on a first come first served basis.

Register and learn more about the Calorie Film Festival here.

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