ROCKLAND — Babette’s Feast (1987) will be presented as a Criterion Series film screening on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 5:30 p.m., at the Strand Theatre. Included with the screening will be a special conversation, led by Strand Board member and Turner Classic Movies host Alicia Malone, with Annemarie Ahearn, the founder of Salt Water Farm Cooking School. 

"The Oscar-winning Babette’s Feast is a beloved treasure of cinema that is considered by many to be the ultimate film about food," said the Strand, in a news release.

Directed by Gabriel Axel and adapted from a story by Isak Dinesen, it is the lovingly layered tale of a French housekeeper with a mysterious past who brings quiet revolution in the form of one exquisite meal to a circle of starkly pious villagers in late nineteenth-century Denmark. 

"Babette’s Feast combines earthiness and reverence in a memorable and moving depiction of sensual pleasure," said the release. 

Alicia Malone and Annemarie Ahearn will chat about the use of food in Babette’s Feast and the importance that cooking plays in all of our lives. Annemarie will share her experiences as a culinary teacher, and Alicia will give inside information about what has made Babette’s Feast a favorite food film. 

Ahearn founded Salt Water Farm Cooking School in 2009, in an old post-and-beam barn overlooking Penobscot Bay. She teaches home cooks from across the globe how to cook instinctively, using produce from her vegetable gardens, fish from the bay, meat from local farms and foraged goods. Ahearn teaches over 500 students a year there, and hosts international culinary retreats in Mexico, Italy, France and Spain. 

The Criterion Collection, a film distribution company, was established in 1984 with a mission to preserve important classic and independent films from around the world and make them available to watch in analog and digital formats. A supporter of community movie theaters, The Criterion Collection is sponsoring a series of films at the Strand that will allow the theater to screen a wide range of acclaimed, hard-to-see movies for our local audience. 

The film is rated G.

Beer and wine are available at the theater’s concessions.

Tickets are $10/General Admission, $8/Seniors and Under 12, $7/Strand Members, and will be available at the box office 30 minutes prior to show time.

For more information, visit www.rocklandstrand.com  or call (207) 594-0070 EX 3.

The Strand Theatre is located at 345 Main St., Rockland.