These Food-Focused Films Are Showing at SIFF

The Seattle International Film Festival opens Thursday for three weeks of films and events. There are some strong picks in the "Culinary Cinema" category this year, some of which involve a movie followed by dinner at restaurants like Poppy, Manhattan, and Loulay.

The list includes:

• The Birth of Saké: The Yoshida Brewery is one of the last to follow the ancient and time-consuming method of hand-brewing saké. From October to April, a small team of brewers leave their families behind and live communally in order to tend to the alcohol 24/7. With as close an attention to detail as the process itself, this documentary is an absorbing look behind the scenes.

• City of Gold: This affectionate portrait of Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold is also a love letter to the kaleidoscopic culinary and cultural wonders of Los Angeles as Gold rides around neighborhoods in his green pickup truck searching out the most delicious meals and intriguing stories.

• Cooking Up a Tribute: In their quest to innovate, the Roca brothers, co-owners of one of the world's best restaurants, closed their restaurant for five weeks to tour the world with the entire staff, and design 57 new dishes paying tribute to local food traditions and ingredients and the power of global food culture.

• For Grace: With his ambition having cost him his family, Chef Curtis Duffy looks to redeem himself with the opening of his new Chicago restaurant. But will his troubled drive get in the way of success? For Grace is a complex, fascinating, and delectable documentary main course.

For more information on these and other films, visit the SIFF website.