Prosper’s Journey and Quanto Basta (As Needed) L’Altra Italia & ICFF Italian Contemporary Film Festival Screening

L’Altra Italia in partnership with ICFF (Italian Contemporary Film Festival) presents a monthly film series of Italian films. November’s screening Prosper’s Journey and Quanto Basta (As Needed) tied in with the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World.

Cristiano de Florentiis

ICFF L’Altra Italia Quanto Basta film screening

ICFF L’Altra Italia monthly Italian film screening

Before the screening, there was a reception at Orchid Nightclub with delicious Italian food to get us excited for the film screening.

Cristiano De Florentiis, L’Altra Italia‘s President and co-founder, premiered his documentary film, Prosper’s Journey, to a captive audience. His movie, Proper’s Journey, was about Prosper, an African teenager who faced enormous ridicule and pain from his facial abnormality. It was through the help of an Italian charity, and the generosity of Italian Canadians, that Prosper was given a chance to have the surgeries needed to have a new start in life. It was so very touching, and Cristiano did an excellent job at directing the film.
Quanto Basta (As Needed), directed by Francesco Falaschi, is a warm and inspiring film about second chances, redemption, teaching, friendship, love and of course, food. Arturo (played by Vinicio Marchioni) was an awarding winning chef who has seen his career fall apart because of his anger issues. After he has down his time for assault, he is released from prison and is assigned to teach a cooking class at a centre for a young people with Autism.
Arturo is faced with ghosts of his past, seeing his former business partner becoming a super successful celebrity chef and his mentor retiring away from the world of cooking. The centre is run by a loving psychologist Anna (played by Valeria Solarino) who is determined to do the best for her students. Arturo’s rough exterior and limited patience are challenged daily until he learns to respect his gifted student, Guido, (played by Luigi Fedele) who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Guido has a passion for cooking and a perfect palate. Guido gets the chance to participate in a cooking competition in Tuscany and to make his mark as a young chef. Anna assigns Arturo as his mentor, who reluctantly agrees to take on the role. At the same time as the competition, Arturo is given a chance to run his own restaurant by cooking for the investors. Arturo is forced to make difficult choices and learn what second chances are truly about.

Both films “Prosper’s Journey” and “Quanto Basta (As Needed)” screened at L’Altra Italia and ICFF‘s November screening presented the view that people, who have faced serious life obstacles, can wind up getting second chances and have the life they had always wanted.