9 Great Movies for Cheese Lovers

What exactly is a cheese movie? It is a film — feature or short — that focuses on cheese in some way. From documentaries of the industry to delightful fiction films, a surprising number of films have used cheese as a subject or vehicle to explore culture, place, and people. Grab a cheese board and your friends and enjoy one or more of these nine cheese-filled films.

Masters of Cheese/Les Maîtres du Fromage (2019 documentary)

The poster for “Masters of Cheese”. Photo credit Pernel Media

Not to be confused with “Master of Cheese,” the next film on this list, “Les Maîtres du Fromage” focuses on the artisanal cheesemaking industry in France and Switzerland. Directed by Eric Bacos, it’s the story of the men and women working to keep the tradition of artisanal cheesemaking alive in the face of increasing industrialization. You can catch the English version currently on Amazon Prime Video’s France Channel.

Master of Cheese (2022 documentary)

Cheesemaker Willi Schmid. Photo credit Master of Cheese

Directed by Simon Steuri and Myriam Zumbühl, this Swiss documentary film focuses on Willi Schmid, a cheesemaker who’s dedicated his life to mastering the art of cheesemaking, to the point where he’s even able to identify in the milk what the cow previously ate.

“Master of Cheese” is a beautiful exploration of one man’s dedication to the art of cheesemaking. While it’s not yet available to stream, there’s an option to host a screening, and the film will be available on all long-distance flights on Swiss Airlines beginning in April 2026.

Shelf Life (2024 documentary)

“Shelf Life.” Photo credit The Artisan Affineurs Project

This film premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Jury Award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature. Directed by Ian Cheney, “Shelf Life” examines cheesemaking around the world, covering everything from archaeological history in Egypt to science in US labs to Alpine transhumance, or cattle migration, in the Swiss Alps. It also highlights the paradox of cheese being both an artisanal and commodity product. It is currently on the festival circuit.

The Big Cheese (2025 documentary)

Adam Moskowitz makes a moo-ve in “The Big Cheese.” Photo credit The Big Cheese

Directed by Sara Joe Wolansky, “The Big Cheese” turns its focus to the world of cheesemongering — a path considered a serious career in Europe that does not command the same respect in the United States. In “The Big Cheese,” third-generation cheese importer Adam Moskowitz aims to achieve the seemingly impossible: to have a US cheesemonger win the Mondial du Fromage, often called the “cheesemonger Olympics” in France. This title follows a few cheesemongers as they work to prepare to compete and gain the respect of their fellow European cheesemongers. It just debuted at DOC NYC in November 2025 and has just started making its way through the festival circuit, but the website will be updated with additional screenings soon.

While we’ve explored some recent documentary films about cheese, there are some classic fiction films that have cheese as a key part of the plot. Some of these are animated films, showing the continued popularity of cheese with children.

Wallace & Gromit's Grand Day Out (1989 animated short film)

 “Wallace and Gromit are out of cheese”. Photo credit Aardman Animations

This animated short, produced by Aardman Productions, is a classic cheese film. Wallace is a lovable yet clueless inventor who loves cheese. Gromit is his dog and partner who often has to get his friend out of trouble. They discover that they are out of cheese. The obvious solution? Wallace and Gromit have to go to the moon to get moon cheese, but find an unexpected presence there. Find this short film and the other “Wallace and Gromit” films on streaming platforms such as Prime Video.

Holy Cow (2024 fictional feature film)

The movie poster for “Holy Cow.” Photo credit Ex Nihilo

This French film, directed by Louise Nikhil, centers around a cheese competition and Totone, a carefree 18-year-old who is catapulted into adult responsibility when his father suddenly dies and he’s left to take care of his younger sister. Totone ultimately realizes the way to wealth and riches is through his late father’s dairy farm and a lucrative, high-stakes Comté competition. Along the way, Totone learns that making cheese, much like growing up, requires a lot of work. “Holy Cow” is currently available through Amazon’s Kino Film Collection.

Mad Heidi (2022 fictional feature film)

The movie poster for “Mad Heidi.” Photo credit Mad Heidi AG

This is not your classic Heidi — and in fact, it’s probably the most unhinged film on this list, so be prepared for over-the-top blood and gore. In this campy title, directed by Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein, cheese plays some unusual starring roles. “Mad Heidi” takes place in a world where Switzerland has gone fascist with a dictator who wants to control the monopoly on cheese at any cost. When her boyfriend is summarily executed for making his own cheese, Heidi finds herself in jail and forced to compete in a wrestling competition. Unwilling to withstand injustice, she transforms into a warrior out for revenge. Rent it from the film’s website, or find it on Apple TV and other streaming services.

As Gouda as It Gets (2020 fictional feature film)

The poster for “As Gouda as It Gets.” Photo credit Incendo Productions

This Hallmark film directed by Anne De Léan is for viewers who need some romance with their cheese. It centers on cheese shop owner Brie Belanger, who decides to enter her four-year smoked Gouda into an annual cheese contest as a final attempt to save her own shop from going under. While she teams up with cheese critic and chef Jack Wolfe to help win the competition, she’s unsure if she can trust him — or trust her heart with him. “As Gouda as It Gets” is available for free on The Roku Channel or on streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video.

The Boxtrolls (2014 animated feature film)

The movie poster for “The Boxtrolls.” Photo credit LAIKA

“The Boxtrolls” is a stop-motion animated film set in the cheese-loving town of Cheesebridge, where gentle underground creatures are wrongly blamed for stealing both children and cheese. Raised by the Boxtrolls, a human boy named Eggs teams up with a young girl to stop a scheming exterminator from destroying his adoptive family. It may not seem that cheese plays a central role, but it does in the film with fun things like a mega cheese called Briehemoth. The movie can be streamed for free on the Roku Channel or Pluto TV, or rented on Fandango and other streaming services.