Rudy’s Pizzeria Documentary to Screen in Westwood on January 21st

“Pizza Shop: An Italian-American Dream,” (Official Film Website) Antony Osso’s documentary film chronicling his family’s immigrant experience and their 40-year run owning Rudy’s Pizzeria in Closter, will screen for free at Westwood Cinemas on Sunday, January 21, 2018 at 3:30pm (Facebook Event).

The documentary was completed in mid-2017, after shooting for ten days between July 2015 and May 2016 in New Jersey and Calabria, Italy. It explores brothers Charlie and Fred Osso’s emigration from poverty-stricken southern Italy in the early 1960s, the journey from odd jobs to owning a successful restaurant, and the inner workings that lead to the delicious pizza and Italian food for which they’re known.

“When I first started making the film, my intention was to celebrate a community institution: my father and uncle’s pizzeria, which has been feeding families for decades,” Osso explained. “But when I looked at the footage more closely, I found an immigrant experience marked by isolation, sacrifice, and courage, and a success borne of hard work, discipline, and optimism. I saw the American Dream realized. It’s an honor to share a story celebrating the immigrants who are the backbone of America.”

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Along with its world premiere at the Golden Door International Film Festival of Jersey City, “Pizza Shop” is an official selection of the Ojai Film Festival and the St. Louis International Film Festival, where it screened in the fall. More festival screenings are forthcoming, as well as screenings hosted by Italian-American organizations across the U.S.

[photo source: “Pizza Shop”]

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