Two days of CineCucina

Satisfy your senses and take a trip around the neighborhood. On May 20th at MoPA the San Diego Italian Film Festival will present an evening of short films focused on food. Enjoy the films, and get ready for the big event on Saturday May 22nd in North Park.

This event, co-promoted by Slow Food Urban San Diego, will include an all day market (Piazza CineCucina), followed by a two-part event at The Birch North Park Theatre.

Aperitivo CineCucina, a view into Italy's affair with food.

CineCucina Screening of Short Films

Thursday May 20th
7:00 PM
The Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) in Balboa Park.
No advanced tickets
Suggested donation: $5.00

The short films on the program are representative of an attempt to make cinematography relevant and of social impact. Vittorio De Seta's short films on various aspects of Sicilian life in the 1950s cast their gaze toward a culture that, as Italy enters its so-called "economic boom" period, seems to be moving toward disappearance. Training his lens on the everyday activities of agricultural workers and fishermen, De Seta offers a glimpse of a laboring portion of the population whose activities are, more often than not, unrecognized, invisible and discounted. Filming in an unobtrusive manner, De Seta foregoes commentary, voice-overs and translations of the local tongues in order to make the final footage as direct a documentation of the cultures under observation as possible. These films are an effective “slice of life” presentation of themes dear to many film makers and commentators that have too often been manipulated to meet the needs of ideologically heavy narratives.

Uno degli ultimi (One of the Last) is film maker Paul Zinder's short on 78 year old Mauro, a Tuscan farmer who believes that "The happiness of man - of all living things - is made up of little things." Living this philosophy of life fully, Mauro enjoys continues to enjoy his life in farming in the old ways, without heavy machinery, without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, reaping and sharing the fruits of his labour. As one of the final selections for the now defunct Earth Circle Cinema, this film celebrates a life that is as simple as it is celebratory of that simplicity. A life that revels in picking olives, cherries and working the land without the mediation of the "simplification" of the technologies of mass production, lived by an old gentleman who wonders why anyone would want to live otherwise.

Giuseppe Gagliardi's shorts, Bellybutton Broth and Peperoni, are two films that delve into the mythologies and enjoyment of food. Intertwining desire, discovery and enjoyment, Gagliardi takes two popular ingredients of Italian cooking from different ends of the boot and explores their sensual and gastronomic natures. Acknowledging the fact that Italian life is closely and always directly influenced and influencing that which Italians ingest, Gagliardi also demonstrates that food constitutes a living component of culture that defines a sense of social intimacy and dialogue.

CineCucina in the Theater

Cinema CineCucina – Presentation & Photography followed by the film Foccacia Blues

Saturday May 22
6:30 PM (Film starts at 7:30 PM)
At The Birch North Park Theatre, at 29th St. & North Park Way.
$15.00 in advance ($12.50 discount price for multiple ticket purchase), $18.00 at the door (CASH OR CHECK ONLY).
Purchase tickets here.

Finding Strange

The SDIFF announces the premiere of the short film, Finding Strange, funded through a grant by the Linnie Cooper Foundation. The CineCucina theme of food and smart eating plays out in a young teen cast who find relationship and happiness in unexpected places. The film was produced with San Diego and Los Angeles talent and crew, directed by Jeffrey Lamont Brown of Tallgrass Pictures, and produced by Miriello Grafico and the San Diego Italian Film Festival.

This film will premiere at the evening show of CineCucina, May 22, 6:30 p.m., Birch North Park Theatre, and will be attended by the production team and young actors.

The San Diego Italian Film Festival takes great pride in sponsoring new film-making talent in Southern California through films such as FINDING STRANGE.

SDIFF creates a magic evening in Italy at the elegant Birch North Park Theatre.

Photographer Douglas Gayeton, brought here by Slow Food Urban San Diego, shares his “Slow life in a Tuscan town”, through narration and photos, and what he learned about great food and sustainability as part of an age old culture.

The second part of the evening is a movie, part documentary, part report, part fiction, all based on real events and put together with real Italian brio, Focaccia Blues, the David and Goliath story that reached newspapers around the world.

The movie tells the story of two bakers from Altamura who put the local McDonald’s out of business by stealing away their customers, enticing them with the local version of fast food: delicious focaccia wrapped goodies like meats and cheeses. Altamura is well known for its doughy delicacies. Road signs welcome visitors to ‘‘The City of Bread’’ upon entering the city limits. Earlier this year the film was given the distinction, Best Picture from the Association of Italian Film Critics. Based on a true story chronicled in a 2006 NY Times article The Bread Is Famously Good, but It Killed McDonald’s, the tale of two bakers able to topple a McDonald’s has become the stuff of legends.

View the full review and trailer

Piazza CineCucina, Italian style farmers’ market and food festival.

Piazza CineCucina – All-day Market

Saturday May 22
11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Behind The Birch North Park Theatre, at 29th St. & North Park Way.
FREE and open to the public.
www.piazzacinecucina.com

Italian style farmers’ market and food festival. Bring back the flavors of Italy with a great food outing to explore tastes and sights and smells that made our grandmothers smile. Just a little bit of chaos, a little sunshine, and lots of food action in this piazza for a day. Right behind the Birch North Park Theatre, 29th & North Park Way. If you’re a vendor, within a 100 miles of San Diego, and want to join in, contact www.piazzacinecucina.com. And if you are in town, you won’t want to miss this celebration.

Ristorante CineCucina, 11 Fabulous North Park restaurants.

From May 19 through June 22

Some of the best restaurants in North Park join with the SDIFF to celebrate Italian food and film. Buy a ticket to the show and enjoy the great promotional offers from these 11 great restaurants. Your ticket purchase entitles you to join in an exceptional restaurant program designed to appeal to both your taste buds and your good taste.

Every ticket also grants access to the Birch North Park Theater for the show, doors open at 6 p.m., May 22. And every ticket gives you choice of the non-limited restaurant offers.

 

CineCucina Tickets

San Diego Italian Film Festival

• 3593 5th Ave., Suite A
  San Diego, CA 92103

• San Diego Italian Film Festival is a 501c(3) non-profit organization.