Chicago Food Film Festival 2012

Have you ever sat down to watch a movie on an empty stomach and found yourself wishing you could get your hands on the grub being served onscreen? Did the soul food in Soul Food whet your appetite? Did Jiro Dreams of Sushi give you dreams of sushi? For hungry cinephiles, along comes the Chicago Food Film Festival, a three-day event that aims to get your taste buds in on the movie-theater experience. Why should eyes and ears have all the fun?

Of course, chowing down is already a pretty instrumental component of many people's movie nights. The hook here is that what you see is what you get to eat. For example, there's Fish Fry Friday, in which the audience is served the mouth-watering subjects of culinary-themed shorts. (Titles like "Mickle's Pickle" and "Perogy!" give you a pretty good idea of what you'll be munching on.)

The fest begins Thursday and runs through Saturday night; all screening-meals will take place at Kendall College. For tickets and a full list of films—as well as their accompanying menus—click here. Attendees might want to skip dinner, and not just to save their appetite: Every event will run you $45–$55, with additional VIP packages also available.