Joe Scaravella's "Le Nonne" (The Grandmothers) are hitting screens around the world, demonstrating how home cooking can bring countries together.
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The publishing success of “Nonnas of the World,” the virtual book that since 2011 has been collecting recipes and stories from grandmothers around the world, led Joe Scaravella in 2015 to bring his own idea to life by hosting the grandmothers in the kitchen of “Enoteca Maria”, his restaurant in Staten Island, so they could tell their stories through their family recipes. The recipes are often centuries old and come from lands thousands of miles away. Ten years have passed since then, but the enthusiasm has never waned and today, celebrating Scaravella's idea, which sprang from nostalgia for his mother and grandmother's cooking, comes Nonnas, the feature film by Stephen Chbosky, which reveals this story full of love and flavor to those who do not yet know it.
A restaurant where grandmothers cook and diners savor dishes that smell of family and tender melancholy, with a desire to pass on the culinary traditions of different continents. Scaravelli's “simple” yet brilliant idea, appreciated by anyone who has had the opportunity to visit Enoteca Maria, as well as by Michelin, which lists it among its Bib Gourmands, finds yet another confirmation with Nonnas, available on Netflix from May 9.
“Food is love. I want a place that's not just for eating, but where you feel at home,” says Scaravella. Director Stephen Chbosky chose highly successful actors to tell the story of Joe and “his grandmothers,” including Vince Vaughn (as Joe), Lorraine Bracco (Roberta), Brenda Vaccaro (Antonella), Talia Shire (Teresa), and Susan Sarandon (Gia). According to Chbosky, Sarandon is responsible for one of the most touching scenes in the film, where the four women sit in a circle and talk and confide in each other.
“I'd like to take credit for that scene, but it was Susan (Sarandon) who took control. We shot for three hours with multiple cameras, and the result was a real stroke of genius.” A comedy that is at times touching and profound, it tells the story of many people who, far from home, maintain a strong bond with their homeland through food and recipes handed down from generation to generation. A film that seals sincere and deep feelings and speaks of affection and families, often extended, who come together around a table.
