Like Water for Chocolate

Screening Like Water for Chocolate June 26, 2026 7:30 pm - 9:15 pm Billy Wilder Theater Presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive Visit the UCLA Film & Television Archive website (opens in a new tab) to learn more about upcoming screenings and events. Free admission. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event. In person: chef and restaurateur Alice Waters. Like Water for Chocolate Year: 1992 Country: Mexico Language: Spanish with English subtitles Runtime: 105 min. 35mm. Color. Director Alfonso Arua’s Like Water for Chocolate was an arthouse sensation when first released and still defines the evocative power of food in film. Based on Laura Esquivel’s novel, its sensuous tale of forbidden love unfolds in early 20th-century Mexico when Tita is bound by family tradition to remain unmarried to care for her mother. Prevented from acting on her love for the handsome Pedro, she pours her passion and heartbreak into her cooking which has a magical, intoxicating effect on those who consume it. The intimacy of the heart and the intimacy of the kitchen transform culinary preparation into a powerful expression of desire, rebellion and yearning.—Senior Public Programmer Paul Malcolm Director: Alfonso Arau. Screenwriter: Laura Esquivel. With: Lumi Cavazos, Marco Leonardi, Regina Torné. 35mm print courtesy of the Sundance Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive Related Series EVENT SERIES Food and Film Ongoing Presented by UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Hammer Museum