The 2019 Ottawa International Vegan Film Festival has announced its list of 26 nominated films.
The event will showcase a collection of the finest vegan-themed short and long format films from this year. The awards will be announced at the Festival’s Premier event on October 6, 2019 at The Chamber Theatre in Ben Franklin Place in Ottawa.
The Door
The Festival received 40 film submissions in 2019, up from 28 last year. The films that have been selected have been submitted from 14 countries around the world. 60% of the films are from female directors.
Category and Films:
Lifestyle Category:
· Apollo: Rise of the Poly-Vegan Soldier (New Zealand)
· A Strange Trial (Switzerland)
· Gold Doesn’t Rust: Animal Testing and its 21st Century Alternatives (USA)
· Let us be Heroes – The True Cost of our Food Choices (Singapore)
· Pig Man (New Zealand)
· The Hunter and the Girl with Pokemon (Belgium)
· Bad Vegan: The Original Recipe (Canada)
· Double Decade Vegan (Australia)
Health and Nutrition Category:
· H.O.P.E. What You Eat Matters (Austria)
· Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine (USA)
· Multiple Seasons (USA)
Animal Welfare Category:
· Casa de Carne (USA)
· Reclaim (Canada)
· Cow’s Milk? (Germany)
· Cows Come Home (USA)
· Bucking Tradition (USA)
· Coming Closer (USA)
· The Cube of Truth (New Zealand)
· Why Not Me (USA)
· The Door (Denmark)
· Hami Shelter (Iran)
Environmental Protection Category:
· Diet Change Not Climate Change (Germany)
· The Farm in My Backyard (Canada)
· The Man of the Trees (Italy)
· #Powerplant (Netherlands)
· Planet Vegan: Episode One (USA)
Tickets for the festival can be purchased online here.
Curated and hosted by vegan blogger, writer, and event planner Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!), this Mekong cruise has been designed to be a relaxed, inclusive, and safe adventure for LGBT travellers as well as their friends and families.
As a gay person, I have often longed for an LGBT-friendly vegan vacation opportunity. I know what it is like to put a lot of effort into planning and paying for a holiday and I want to know that every part of my trip celebrates who I am. My partner and I want to feel safe and relaxed whether we are in our cabin, sharing cocktails in the bar, or dining together at night. Vegan Culinary Cruises helped me turn this dream into a reality for me and my LGBT community!
Even though our gorgeous Mekong adventure is focused on celebrating LGBT community members, the cruise is also welcoming to non-LGBT friends and family members. We have worked hard to create an experience in which everyone can celebrate our diverse communities.
Our luxury Mekong river cruise combines places rarely visited with opulent world heritage sites exploring the wonders and culture of Vietnam and Cambodia
With only 25 cabins, this luxury cruise is an exclusive adventure for only 50 guests. It is all inclusive and means the cruise, delicious vegan cuisine, open bar, tours and more!
Vegan Culinary Cruises Vietnam & Cambodia Mekong river cruise is one of the world’s most exotic and unforgettable journeys. Marvel at ancient temples, mist-covered mountains and colourful floating markets along the Mekong River as you travel by luxury river cruise through two of Southeast Asia’s most beautiful countries. Along the way, visit temples and monasteries, royal palaces and pagodas, rural villages and experience first-hand everyday life in this unique part of the world. This deluxe river cruise ship features delicious regionally-inspired vegan cuisine, spa treatments and a pool on the sun deck so our guests can return to luxury after each on shore adventure.
Our all-inclusive program includes delicious vegan cuisine, thought-provoking lectures, entertainment, and fabulous on-board programming, along with local tours at each locale we visit.
Picture yourself watching the river flow from the window of your cabin or one of the decks as it takes you to new places and reveals storybook landscapes as you relax in total comfort. The sublime ambiance and personal service aboard your Vegan Culinary Cruise ship creates an oasis of relaxation that is simply unexcelled. Each one of the bright, airy cabins has unrestricted views of the scenery through panoramic, glass windows with private balcony that spans the cabin’s width. Experience travel like you never have before with the sheer ease of river transport.
Details
Pricing from: US$5790 per person based on double occupancy Dates: July 4, 2020 until July 11, 2020
We are offering a US$500 per person discount if you book your cabin before September 1, 2019.
There is also an optional Siem Reap Cambodia pre-tour available at additional cost.
Pre-tour
Day 1 – Thursday July 2 – Siem Reap – Arrive transfer to hotel Day 2 – Friday July 3 – Siem Reap area tour Day 3 – Saturday July 4 – Siem Reap morning area tour, afternoon transfer to ship at Kampong Cham
Cruise
Day 1 – Saturday July 4 –Afternoon transfer Siem Reap to ship at Kampong Cham Day 2 – Sunday July 5 – Kampong Cham, Angkor Ban, Wat Hanchey – Cambodia Day 3 – Monday July 6 – Kampong Tralach, Kampong Chhnang – Cambodia Day 4 – Tuesday July 7 – Phnom Penh – Cambodia Day 5 – Wednesday July 8 – Tan-Chau, My An Hung – Border crossing Vietnam Day 6 – Thursday July 9 – Sa Dec, Binh Thanh Island – Vietnam Day 7 – Friday July 10 –- Cai Be, My Tho – Vietnam Day 8 – Saturday July 12: Ho Chi Min City / Saigon – Vietnam – Disembark
Get all the finer details of this incredible vegan, LGBT-friendly cruise along the Mekong online here.
You can also find out about future cruises like our south of France general vegan cruise next year. Follow Vegan Culinary Cruises on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
TWO COPPER BRANCH LOCATIONS IN TORONTO ARE NOW OPEN PAST MIDNIGHT
The chain’s locations on Bathurst St and at the Sheppard Centre now offer vegans and omnivores alike the chance to eat plant based at nearly any hour.
The Montreal-based chain, which is now the largest plant-based restaurant chain in the world, has announced that two of their key Toronto locations are now open past midnight seven days a week. Their Bathurst and Sheppard Centre stores will now feature their full menus well past the time any other healthy or plant-based restaurants have closed for the evening. This will allow anyone out for the evening in the city or night shift workers to enjoy the benefits of delicious, plant-based meals at an hour when previously the best they could do would be burgers and fries.
Copper Branch’s location at 410 Bathurst St is open until 2am seven days a week and their restaurant at the Sheppard Centre is open Thursday through Saturday until 2am and Sunday through Wednesday until 1am.
“Customer response to these two locations staying open late has been incredible,” says Copper Branch Global Director of Marketing, Andrew Infantino. “Our customers love that they can replicate their late night favorites such as burgers, Buffalo wings, nachos, and even poutine in an all-natural, healthy version when they’re out late in the city.”
With over 60 restaurants worldwide, what sets Copper Branch apart from other quick service plant-based restaurants is its commitment to both familiar fare as well as unique global recipes that diners can only get at Copper Branch. The chain features an all-day breakfast and an all-encompassing menu that includes power bowls, burgers and sandwiches, soups and chili, and power smoothies. The entire menu is whole food plant-based, with many non-GMO, organic, specialty and naturally gluten-free foods.
Though the entire Copper Branch menu is vegan, the company has found that the vast majority of its customers are not strict vegans, but rather omnivores who want to replicate the delicious foods they currently enjoy but in a healthier, more ethical and sustainable way. “This is food I’m proud to have my children eat” adds CEO Rio Infantino. “Now our customers can do so at any hour, which is exciting for the industry and for the company.”
Copper Branch is considering adopting the late night strategy at more locations.
ABOUT COPPER BRANCH
Started in 2014 and headquartered in Montreal, Copper Branch is a privately held company and holds the distinction of being the largest and fastest growing plant-based fast casual chain in the world. The company’s mission is to Empower, Energize and make people feel their Best; providing a convenient, plant-based dining experience without sacrificing taste, quality or satisfaction. The reasonably priced, 100% plant-based menu items are never fried and consist of mainly organic and non-GMO ingredients. For locations, menus and other details, visit the website.
Plant Power Fast Food, a plant-based fast food restaurant chain based in San Diego, CA, opened its fifth location last week in Long Beach, California.
The three-and-a-half-year-old company reported that sales from the Long Beach location on its opening Sunday June 30, 2019 were the highest for any of the company’s five locations for one single day in its history.
Chief Operations Officer and Co-CEO Zach Vouga said, “We’re thrilled to be part of this vibrant community and we’re overwhelmed by the warm welcome we’ve been receiving from customers old and new.”
Company President and Co-CEO Mitch Wallis said that their brand was specifically designed to appeal to everyone, not just those on a plant-based diet.
“By presenting a fresh, GMO-free, plant-based menu in the familiar fast-food format, we’re able to provide an easy-to-access alternative for those looking for healthier options”. He added, “The majority of our customers are omnivores who are exploring new food choices”.
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and Co-CEO Jeffrey Harris believes that there is a huge opportunity to bring a plant-based alternative to the U.S. fast-food space: “In the United States, the fast food market exceeded $255 billion in sales in 2018 according to market research companies Statista and IBIS. While traditional fast food restaurants deliver the taste, cost and convenience factor that their customers enjoy, the majority of mainstream brands have failed to adequately address the evolving needs of consumers who are looking for healthier, more humane and environmentally sustainable options.”
Asked about the current news of major fast-food brands adding vegan items to their menu, Harris was positive. “We’re thrilled to see many of the major fast-food brands expand their offerings to include plant-based options.”
Harris further adds, “The introduction of vegan burgers at some fast food restaurant chains indicates that a significant attitudinal shift is in motion, just as we predicted several years ago when we first began developing our business. That said, we believe that consumers are looking for more than just a couple of vegan options on the menu. We’re excited to be able to offer something radically different to customers who are hungry for real change”
New location for Plant Power Fast Food
ADDRESS: 5095 E Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, CA 90804 HOURS: Breakfast 7:00am – 11:00am. Lunch/dinner from 11:00am – 10:00pm MENU ITEMS: From burgers, shakes, “chicken” tenders, to fries, salads, juices and raw items with seasonal options throughout the year
One of the nicest places you could ever hope to have a comfort food experience is Sage Plant-Based Bistro.
With three locations throughout the Greater Los Angeles area, Sage is the perfect dining spot to make your Californian adventure extra special.
Last year I had a truly sensational meal with my buddy Patricia in the Culver City location, while a few weeks ago Gil and I ordered a whole bunch off the Echo Park menu.
The Brussels sprouts had us pushing each other out of the way and my strawberry shake was too creamy for this horrible world. We don’t deserve treats this nice.
Check out our feast below and be sure to follow Sage on Instagram.
Doisy & Dam have been making cute chocolates for a few years but they have totally taken things to a new level by releasing vegan-friendly nut butter cups.
I have teamed up with a respected and established cruise company to create a new vegan cruise arm of their business!
I am the Director of Development for Vegan Culinary Cruises, a high end luxury vegan vacation specialist with a focus on fine dining.
We have two cruises planned for 2020 so far including an LGBT-friendly (all welcome) vegan cruise on the Mekong through Vietnam and Cambodia, plus a late summer general vegan cruise in the south of France.
I’m thrilled to be on all cruises as the group leader and I can’t wait to experience these destinations with likeminded people!
Don’t you just hate when you go to a cinema and there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for vegans to consume from the concessions stand?
Fellow cinema goers are struggling under trays of savoury snacks and ice creams and popcorn and soda.
The rejection I’ve experienced at cinemas has been decades long so imagine my overwhelming delight at visiting a cinema in Los Angeles and being faced with too much vegan choice.
Gil and I were invited to try out all the vegan goodies at Laemmle theatres.
Laemmle is an independently owned cinema chain specialising in arthouse films. We hopped along to their North Hollywood location for a screening of the latest Jim Jarmusch release The Dead Don’t Die and picked up all of these amazing treats.
Pretty impressive, right?
As you can see, Laemmle theatres are selling Fry’s products and I promise you I never thought I’d live to see the day when a cinema chain had vegan hot food options of such a high standard.
I gobbled up the hot dog, the sausage roll, and the gluten free nuggets.
When you are in Los Angeles, make time to take in a film screening at one of the nine Laemmle locations AND eat well while you do it.
You can follow Laemmle on Instagram. You can also follow Fry’s on Instagram.
Gil and I were recently in Los Angeles, so I made sure I put some time aside in order to visit a Veggie Grill location.
In case you don’t know, Veggie Grill is a vegan restaurant chain with locations around the USA.
The growth of the restaurant group has been sensational with approximately thirty locations spread around the country.
Their food is some of the best plant-based cuisine you will eat on the planet, with a special seasonal mini menu that changes throughout the year in addition to their regular items.
Check out my photos below and be sure to follow Veggie Grill on Instagram.
Brussels sprouts and tempura green beans with ranch dipping sauceBuffalo Bomber burger with Smoky Corn Bisque, All Hail Kale salad, and mash potato with mushroom gravy
I hadn’t chosen to visit Seville for the food, but a quick Google told me that some gems awaited me in this tiny but perfectly formed city.
We stayed at the Hotel Fernando III on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Vegan breakfast options were pretty decent; a huge selection of breads, jams, dairy-free margarine spread, cereal, soya milk (already out on the buffet table), three types of juice, nuts, seeds and fresh fruit was all available. From the hot options the baked beans, fried tomatoes and breakfast potatoes were suitable for vegans too.
Directly opposite our hotel was a charming tapas bar called La Bartola. It had good reviews on HappyCow and it was in an incredibly convenient location so we decided to check it out. They had a small but interesting menu with all vegan items clearly marked and knowledgeable staff on hand to provide extra information if needed.
We had the aubergine bruschetta and the sushi, which was battered and deep fried. It sounded like sacrilege at first, but one taste was all the convincing we needed! It was utterly delicious with a crisp outer but still fresh and zingy in the middle. The baked aubergine on the bruschetta had been roasted to perfection before being topped with fresh tomatoes and rocket. It was something I could easily eat every day!
The old town is tiny and very compact so there isn’t much need for public transport, it’s best explored on foot. As we walked down one little road we stumbled upon a lovely little smoothie bar called Milk Away. They sell lots of healthy options like porridge, fruit pots, salad bowls and so on but we had a giant smoothie each. You can choose any combination from the dizzying selection of options they have or pick one of their suggested blends.
While strolling around, we saw vegan options being proudly offered in so many places, sadly we didn’t have time to try them all.
Our final stop was at Bar Alfalfa. A good friend of mine had recommended that we visit this place during our trip, this was the only recommendation we had. It lived up to our expectations with some truly special options packed full of flavour. We had the red pesto bruschetta, pumpkin soup and seeded red pepper hummus with toasted breads. I know nobody can go wrong with hummus but this one definitely surpassed expectations. They told us that the pesto was made from scratch on the premises and the bruschetta was generously topped with toasted pine nuts. The soup was the perfect consistency and came topped with a few extra vegetables.
Back in December, Los Angeles city councilmember Paul Koretz introduced a bill that, if passed, would require entertainment and travel venues around the city to put at least one vegan dish on their menus.
The Fry Family Food Company and Los Angeles cinema chain Laemmle Theatres decided to get a jump on the passing of the bill and have partnered to bring delicious, healthy vegan products to three Laemmle Theatre locations around Los Angeles.
Family-owned Fry’s is a global plant-based food brand based in South Africa which sells its products in 28 countries around the world and is about to make its U.S. retail debut this spring. Laemmle Theatres, also family owned, is one of the most iconic cinema chains in Los Angeles with its origins dating back to the 1930s.
Fry’s Chik’n Nuggets, which are both non-GMO and gluten-free, are now available in Laemmle Theatres in Santa Monica, North Hollywood and Glendale.
This is fabulous news and I truly believe this is just the start of a new wave of vegan food catering in entertainment venues.
Extra news: some extra gossip on the grapevine suggests Laemmle Theatres will soon be introducing additional menu items from Fry’s including hot dogs and sausage rolls.
Follow Laemmle on Instagram and view movie times/locations online.
Follow Fry’s on Instagram and view their entire range online.
