Matteo Troncone spoke to Hofstra students about his film, “Arrangiarsi (Pizza… and the Art of Living)” as a part of Hofstra’s Italian American Lecture Series. // Photo courtesy of Abigail Lepp on Unsplash.
Hofstra’s Italian American Lecture Series presented a film screening and commentary on “Arrangiarsi (Pizza … and the Art of Living)” with director Matteo Troncone on Tuesday, April 13. ‘Arrangiarsi’ translates to overcoming obstacles, and it is the main theme of the film. The film is a documentary not only about the gastronomy of Italian culture, but also about life and society in Italy.
In the film, Troncone touches on subjects such as the spirit of the Neapolitan people as well as the south of Italy – crime and gangsters, history, culture, tradition and most importantly: pizza.
The film was originally a documentary about the process, passion and art of Neapolitan pizza-making, but the focus later shifted. The film took a turn when Troncone realized he was not just making a film about pizza, but “he was [also] living the film.” As Troncone’s personal and professional lives were falling apart, he realized that he was already taking part in the act of arrangiarsi, which can also translate to “arranging oneself.”
“I just had this ‘ah-ha’ moment, this epiphany, like, ‘oh my God, what have I been eating my entire life,’” Troncone said. “I have never really had a pizza until this moment.” He explains that eating pizza was so much of an inspiration that he wanted to figure out how they did it. “That was basically the genesis of the film,” he added.
“As a film student, we try to make the audience remember a certain message from the film,” said Victor Robles, a sophomore film major. “The word ‘arrangiarsi’ is definitely sticking with me.”
Panelists included Stanislao Pugliese, a history professor at Hofstra and Gregory Pell, a romance language and literature professor.
Pell explains that the film is an ode to the power of storytelling: telling one’s own story in a unique way. “Matteo perfected the art of living well and arranging himself for arrangiarsi,” he added.
“The emotional impact that the film was able to portray was powerful because throughout the film you can tell [when] he was stressed or happy or intrigued,” said Abigail Carmona, a junior journalism major. “I think he was able to get his message across.”
The film took eight years to make, and Troncone lived in a van for five of those years with little to no money. Overall, he made nine trips to Italy.
“It’s interesting to see a filmmaker who has a passion but has to work with little equipment and no crew,” said Samuel Valles, a junior film major. “It was just one man getting the shots and the interviews.”
“I just followed what I was curious about with my camera, so I would film street artists and ‘crazy people’ or just things that made me laugh,” Troncone said. “I think it’s a way better film than if it was just about pizza.”
For more information on the film, visit arrangiarsifilm.com.
[email protected] • Apr 27, 2021 at 6:26 pm
Grazie Tiffany for this article. And thank you to Abigail, Victor, and all the other students at Hofstra for your kind attention and generous feedback.
Special thanks to Satm Pugliese and Greg Pell for "arranging" this screening and the Q&A. I enjoyed you all very much.
Mangiamo!
Mattep