The ultimate film, food, and wine experience, the Napa Valley Film Festival lights up Wine Country during the most colorful time of the year. Thank you Napa Valley Film Festival for sponsoring this post.

The Napa Valley Film Festival happens every year in, you guessed it, Napa Valley. NVFF founders Brenda and Marc Lhormer envisioned a Fall film festival that would exhibit the year’s best new independent films and likely big award contenders while paying homage to the region’s outstanding food and wine.

Thanks to my friends at CLEVER, I was invited to take part of the fun so my friend Pamm and I hit the road and let me tell you, it was a fun and unique experience! You can read about our stay in the region here. 

So, now that I’ve been to the festival once, it is now on my calendar for the year’s to come. Want to know why? Keep reading…

IT’S MORE THAN MOVIES

I can’t even lie. I did not watch a movie at the festival. I know! So bad, right? But, there are so many events happening during the festival that you truly can tailor an experience that is just right for you, and believe me, next time, it will involve movies (the ones I wanted to see weren’t playing on the days I went). Because I love to cook, I enjoyed all of the culinary theater demos at CIA at Copia They varied from the perfect brussel sprouts recipe to the perspectives of women in the kitchen and food/wine industries. It was inspiring and enlightening in a way that I didn’t know I needed. Plus, the small plates at every session didn’t hurt either. 🙂

Chef Melissa King talking through the magic of Brussel Sprouts

A very lively discussion about representation in the kitchen.

GOOD WINE SURROUNDS YOU

Cheers, y’all!

Sure, the festival is celebrating movies, but you can’t go to a film festival in a world-renowned wine region without enjoying some vino! 🙂 At the culinary demos and events like Variety’s 10-to-Taste, wine intermissions, and various dinner series, attendees, media and industry folk were able to taste the wine and speak with the people who live it. Given the recent events in Napa and Sonoma, I appreciated that time more than ever! Plus, it was all good.

Honoring Trailblazers, young and old

Yup. This happened!

The Celebrity Tributes at the Lincoln Theater were the best! Some that were honored include Michael Shannon, Nikki Reed, Nancy Meyers and one of my favorites, Will Ferrell. I really appreciated getting a deeper look at each honoree as a person and not just the famous name and personalities we have grown to love through TV and film. Introduced by her daughter, Nancy’s valiance was undeniable. Michael was just as I had imagined he would be: understated, raw and hilarious. Will was…Will. He is so many things, and his interview was my favorite. A pinch of comedy, a pinch of home life. He’s someone I could go rage with, or be at a dinner party with. Totally!

I’m so happy I had the opportunity to go. It was a great experience and like I said, I can’t wait for next year and believe me, I will be attending ALL of the days! Whether you’re local to Northern California or a thousand miles away, I encourage you to mark your calendar for November 2018 and plan your trip for the Napa Valley Film Festival.

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.