Eat while you watch! You can now look forward to five days of fantastic food films (29 in total) giving you endess opportunties to gorge yourself on everything from pig’s blood popsicles (perhaps) to an entire evening devoted to oysters as this year’s NYC Food Film Fest takes place from June 23 until June 27 with ticket and VIP sales beginning today (May 14) with Allen Katz as resident mixologist. For those not in the know, Alen Katz knows his drinks. He is the director of mixology and spirits education for Southern Wine and Spirits of New York, the president of the New York chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild, a lecturer, a consultant, and an all-around cocktail aficionado. Click through for further culinary and celluloid curiosities and an all round truly edible vibe.

Wednesday, June 23

The 2010 Festival is set to kick off with The Great New York City Shuck ‘N Suck.  On Wednesday, June 23, Oyster lovers from near and far will descend upon Water Taxi Beach at the South Street Seaport for an oyster evening of epic proportions.  Attendees will dine from an all-you-can-eat oyster menu featuring some rare varieties on the half-shell that will be featured in four short films screening during the meal.  The night opens with New York City’s 1st official Shuck ‘n Suck Contest, in which 2-person teams (1 shucker and 1 sucker) will compete to see who has the skills to claim the title Best Shuck ‘N Sucker in New York.

Thursday, June 24

As if an Oyster bash were not thrilling enough, Thursday, June 24th offers up Chef Brad Farmerie (Double Crown / PUBLIC) curating a phenomenal evening of Southeast Asian Street Food at the Astor Center, where a selection of films will be screened while attendees sample Farmerie and friends’ peerless fare.

Friday, June 25

Friday night, June 25th, at Water Taxi Beach, Long Island City, offers a screening of many exotic food films, including Joe York’s Smokes & Ears and a taste of the legendary pig ear sandwich from The Big Apple Inn in Jackson, Mississippi.

Saturday, June 26

On Saturday, June 26th, The World’s First Food Truck Drive-In takes place under the Brooklyn Bridge for 10 hours of mobile madness.  The original lot of FREE tickets for the event were distributed in less than 24 hours.  While not yet able to offer more tickets, it has been revealed that the first 10 trucks participating in the event are: Wafels ‘n Dinges, Treats Truck, Street Sweets, NYC Cravings, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, Soler Dominican, the Bistro Truck, Green Pirate Juice Truck, Jiannettos Pizza and Rickshaw Dumplings.  The Festival continues to register vendors for the event and will provide vendor updates as the event draws near. Co-Founder and Executive Chef for the Festival Harry Hawk said, “This event is by far the largest and most diverse gathering of non-traditional vendors New York has ever seen.  I hope people are ready to eat.”

Sunday, June 27

To close out the 2010 Festivities in New York, the NYC Food Film Festival presents two events on Sunday, June 27th.  At high noon, enjoy a screening of the vintage food film, It’s Grits! followed by a Grits Takedown from cooking competition guru Matt Timms, featuring 30+ Grits dishes from NYC amateur chefs.  Later that evening, the Festival offers its first Brooklyn Burger ‘N Beer Garden featuring a screening of Anat Baron’s Beer Wars, an all-inclusive menu of burgers and craft brews and the Closing Awards Ceremonies for the 2010 summer season.

For those who act quickly, the Festival is offering a limited number of discounted VIP Passes and Pre-Sale Tickets to most events beginning today, Friday, May 14th at 12 Noon EDT.  Visit www.nycfoodfilmfestival.com to order online.