Zeitgeist Serves Up a Warm Mid-August Lunch

I’m not sure if Zeitgeist Films’ buyers saw this film on a empty stomach, but there is something about Foreign language films from the old continent where culinary delights are in the forefront of the narrative. IndieWIRE reports that the 6-to-10 title distributor have grabbed the rights to Pranzo di ferragosto (Mid-August Lunch) – a Venice Film Festival winning (for First Film) from Italian helmer Gianni Di Gregorio. Zeitgeist is tagging the film with February release.

“Lunch” follows Gianni, middle aged and broke, who lives with his 93-year old mother in her Rome apartment. The day before the August bank holiday the condo manager tells Gianni that if he takes the manager’s mother into his home for two days he’ll knock some money off the condo debts Gianni has run up over the years. When the manager turns up with his mother and aunt, Gianni is forced to accept them both. And Gianni’s doctor has a mother too…. As the elderly women accumulate, Gianni tries to keep these all these determined personalities comfortable, happy and well fed in the now very cramped apartment.

Matteo Garrone’s Achimede Productions produced the film – here is a chunk of film without the subtitles. 

 What is your favorite film featuring food?