This is the second of a series of reviews of movies showing at the New Haven Documentary Film Festival, or NHDocs, which runs May 30 through June 9 at the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale, the main branch of the New Haven Free Public Library, Cafe Nine, and the State House. Click here for a full schedule of screenings.
Gorman Bechard, co-founder of NHdocs and self-proclaimed pizza snob, writes and directs Pizza: A Love Story, a deliciously fun homage to the Holy Trinity of New Haven’s pizza restaurants — Frank Pepe’s, Sally’s and Modern. But it is so much more than that, delving into the history of not only the city’s beloved apizza, but the people who brought it here. There is as much to be learned about the settling of Italian immigrants in the Elm City and the effect they had on the area as there is to be learned about what makes these pizzas and the three particular establishments that bring them to us so cherished by so many.
Instead of chapters in this story, there are lessons (Lesson 5, for example, is “it’s all about the oven”) elaborated on by devout followers of these legendary establishments, including employees and family members of each restaurant as well as a few famous faces, local and otherwise. Some, such as singer Lyle Lovett, wax poetic about their favorite pies, while others delve into the details of the unique characteristics of a meal that has become so famous that even the massive lines out the door to get one have become a cherished part of its experience and legacy. From a large Italian Bomb to a small plain and everything in between, each close up of each slice and each smile they generate helps prove that New Haven apizza reigns supreme even beyond this region.
If you’re already a worshipper, Pizza: A Love Story will only deepen your feelings for your favorite and may even tempt you to try one of the other two, but one thing is for certain: you’re going to want to eat one afterward, so grab someone you love (and maybe lovingly argue with about which pizza is the best), go see this film, and then go share a pie.
Pizza: A Love Story screens at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday June 1st in the auditorium at Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St. The screenings are technically sold out, but there will be a limited number of seats available once all ticket and fast pass holders are seated. To listen to an episode of WNHH’s “Kitchen Sync” about the documentary, click on or download the audio below.