Disco Sauce: The Unbelievable True Story of Penne Alla Vodka.
Penne Alla Vodka is America's dirty little secret. You can have it hungover from the diner, or for 40 bucks a plate at some of the finest restaurants. While it's secret origin might surprise you, it's sordid history will baffle you, which is why two best friends decided to deep dive into what's lovingly called "disco sauce" and discover it's secret powers that polarize the culinary world like no other dish.
Grilling celeb chefs, exploring NYC's best markets, having it analyzed by scientists, even risking jail time sourcing illegal ingredients for this ridiculous dish was no match for these two cooking cousins who will, once and for all, put an end to the debate of what Penne Alla Vodka should be. This is more then just a dish, it's a metaphor for society as a whole. Have we gone food crazy? Yes. Will we ever be satisfied? Never.
Directed and Edited by Roberto Serrini who has always been looking for delicious stories to share. Winner of dozens of film festivals festival and awards including Four Taste Awards, a Gold Cube, and Silver Pencil, his films about food and travel have an overwhelming desire to surprise and delight leaving audiences always hungry for a bit more.
I've always been passionate about making amazing, fun content about the things we unknowingly love. Dedicating a life to travel and documentary, I've had the honor to tell dozens of unique and beautiful stories through my lens. I truly love handcrafting these films, producing, shooting, and editing them on my own terms, so that a unique perspective can always ring true. This, the latest of of my absurd work, will hopefully leave you full, but craving just a bite more.
-Rs.
Watch the Full Film “Disco Sauce: The True Story of Penne Alla Vodka”
Winner 2023 Taste Awards Bob Saget Gold Medal for best Comedy Film
Winner 2022 MarCom award for Documentary Film
Winner 2022 Viddy Award for Documentary Film
Winner 20022 WildSound Film Festival for Documentary Film
Reviews are LIVE
Already “Disco Sauce” has been winning some beautiful awards and the hearts of festival audiences and has gained the attention of UTA to develop it into a Television series called “The Secret Ingredient” which we are over the moon about. As this list continues to grow we will be adding each award and accolade here so stay tuned. Check out audience reactions to “The Secret Ingredient” below!
Interview with Filmmaker
Roberto Serrini
Matthew Toffolo of WildSounds sat down with filmmaker and director of “Disco Sauce”, Roberto Serrini, to ask a few questions about the film, the filmmaking process, and future plans. You can read all about it here, or scan down below.
1. What motivated you to make this film?
My previous documentary with Peter was called “Italy In Bocca” (www.italyinbocca.com if you want to get hungry) and it really put us on the map. We had a few show runners and production companies calling us asking if we were interested in developing the concept into a series. Because we felt like the food film scene was so saturated with these high stake shows we wanted to do something really different that focused on why we love food: because of the way it brings people together. So we wanted to see if we could take a recipe like Penne Alla Vodka, something seemingly inconsequential, and blow it completely out of proportion like they do on all these other cooking shows, really deep diving to the point that you can’t believe anyone went to that kind of trouble to make a simple bowl of pasta. I think it worked.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
It took a few days to film as it was self produced and during a pandemic, but fortunately everyone was excited to be a part of it and make time to be on camera. Edit wise it took about a month to assemble, do all the animations, graphics, and mix. It will take about a year to work off all the bowls of pasta I ate during the edit process however.
3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
insatiably irreverent.
4. Did you really almost go to jail for making this documentary?
Unfortunately, yes. Our goal was to have a big food adventure, and prove you didn’t need to be famous or even have money to celebrate the best thing about food, brining people together. Part of the adventure was sourcing the absolute best ingredients, so, when it came to dairy, I had to have raw, unpasteurized cream which is highly illegal to buy or sell in NYC.
5. How did you source the illegal products and still document it?
Well, I posed as a new mother on a raw milk facebook group looking for raw milk for my newborn. A nice member told me about a guy named “Chuck” at this Upper East Side farmers market, who might sell me some if I mentioned his name. I went up there with a pair of spy glasses, made the connection, and set up a time to buy the raw cream on the street the next day, like a drug deal. Let me tell you, it was so good I would go to jail for this pasta.
6. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Honestly not overeating while editing … staring at delicious bowls of penne alla vodka for 8 hours a day is not healthy for the mind. As for the actual project, the biggest difficultly was the audio. While we had a lot of interest to make this film a reality, we didn’t have any budget. Fortunately I’m used to self producing content and shooting/editing everything solo. Sound however is something I would have happily put money towards to have the cleanest audio possible, but because we were moving so fast it wasn’t possible to have a dedicated sound guy with us, so my mixer worked overtime in post to make it sound delicious thankfully, but next time hopefully we’ll have the resources to give him the best quality across the board. If you’ve seen the film, you know we’re only about the best quality.
7. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
My initial reaction in watching the audience reaction to my film was pure smiles and validation. I never know if people are going to really get what I make and honestly have the reaction I have when I make my films. It’s amazing to hear candid reactions and critique from a really wide audience of tastes and they all arrive at the same conclusion. Even small moments that could easily be overlooked they mentioned and that to me made a film I already love become even more adored.
8. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
Randomly I had a roommate at UCSB that was a die hard filmmaker who said I should audit Film 101 with him. I was studying photography and journalism and thought why not. My first paper was on Blade Runner and after I turned it in the TA pulled me aside and told me to my face that it was the greatest paper he ever read. That my ability to analyze film was extraordinary and I was effectively a “film genius”. I didn’t know what to do with this information, but I knew I was supposed to be a filmmaker. Funny thing … about 20 years later I’m at a reunion with a bunch of film guys and they go “oh, did Chad the TA tell you you were a genius too?” … Apparently he told everyone that to get the numbers up in the film department so they would have more funding. Frankly, it was a relief knowing I’m not a film genius, and still had a really fantastic career doing something I really love.
9. What is your favorite meal?
If I said Penne Alla Vodka with illegal cream would that surprise you?
10. What is next for you? A new film?
I’m finishing a sequel to Italy In Bocca that we shot in Rome with the original writer of the cookbooks. We rented a 500 year old apartment with a stone hearth to cook in and put together an epic meal out of these rare and funky cookbooks. It’s the first thing I’ve shot overseas and I’m really excited to release it given the popularity of the first installment. Careful Stanley Tucci … I’m coming for you;)