“The film is not entirely about pizza; one can watch it and see Bechard laying out the history of his city, a cycle of immigration, assimilation, and gentrification that extends well beyond New Haven.” – E Film Critic
Pizza, A Love Story, filmmaker Gorman Bechard’s 11 years-in-the-making homage to the world famous pizzerias Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana, Sally’s Apizza, and Modern Apizza, is set for release on DVD and Video-On-Demand on September 29, 2020.
Called “An important film of staggering genius that needed to be made,” Pizza, A Love Story has been selling out film festival screenings from Washington State to Alabama. Work on the film began in 2008, when Bechard and longtime friend Dean Falcone, both self-acknowledged pizza snobs, decided it was time to turn the camera on the only pizza that matters.
“Pizza, a Love Story” Trailer
The film sets out to prove its tag line: “Pizza wasn’t invented in New Haven. It was perfected there,” by combining history, comedy, and some of the most mouth-watering footage you will ever see, into a film that also features cameos from actor Henry Winkler, musicians Lyle Lovett and Michael Bolton, Senator Chris Murphy, legendary concert promoter Jim Koplik, and dozens more. The film also includes the last known interview with Flora Consiglio of Sally’s, filmed shortly before her passing in 2012.
“I learned long ago the best films are driven by passion,” Bechard says, “and if there’s one thing I truly believe it’s that New Haven has the best pizza on this planet.” And for the prolific filmmaker, it was nice to know, in interviewing so many food celebrities including Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports, that he was not alone in this belief.
Rounding out the pizza-loving duo is local historian Colin M. Caplan, who came on as a co-producer mid-way into the project, and has since written the acclaimed book Pizza in New Haven. “Colin was able to find a lot of the historical images that seemed to be out of our reach,” explains Falcone. “He has a great knowledge of the early history of pizza.”
The DVD, coming from the MVD Entertainment Group, features numerous extras, including the Q&A from opening night in New Haven with Bechard and his two producers.
On the same day, the prolific Bechard’s newest animal documentary Seniors, A Dogumentary will also be released on DVD and VOD platforms. The documentary is a passionate portrayal of the vitality of senior dogs, and the people who cherish and protect them. Featuring the beloved Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary of Mount Juliet, Tennessee and Chaser the Border Collie, known as “The Smartest Dog In the World.” Their stories converge through the keen lens of famed photographer Jane Sobel Klonsky, author of the book Unconditional: Older Dogs, Deeper Love.
Gorman Bechard has directed 18 feature films including rock documentaries on The Replacements, Grant Hart, Archers of Loaf, Lydia Loveless, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and soon Wilco’s Jay Bennett. He has also directed the animal-rights film A Dog Named Gucci, which won the prestigious and rarely awarded ASPCA Media Excellence Award in 2015. He is the author of 5 novels, including the religious satire, The Second Greatest Story Ever Told. He is the executive director/programmer of NHdocs: the New Haven Documentary Film Festival. He lives in New Haven, CT with his wife Kristine and their two dogs, Springsteen and Dylan.
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