God Forgives Everyone, and may He enjoy His meal! A discussion on an Italian comedy turned into a culinary seminar

The film God Forgives Everyone satisfied the appetite for popular Italian comedies at this year’s KVIFF. Following the screening, the audience had the opportunity to discuss the film with its director, Pierfrancesco Diliberti, better known as Pif. The first question concerned the reactions of Czech viewers.

“I’m interested in their reactions as this is the first time I’ve screened my film abroad. The Italian relationship with food and desserts is quite unique. I realise that some jokes get lost in translation. But the theme of the search for God is surely something that applies everywhere,” said the director of the romantic film featuring a hero with a passion for desserts. The discussion then turned into a cooking workshop. Pif spoke at length about cannoli, a delicacy that tourists often order filled with pistachio cream. According to him, this is purely a commercial invention, as the only authentic version is made with ricotta.

He then strongly emphasised the correct pronunciation of arancina. “It's arancina, never arancino! It may seem like a small detail, but it’s actually a matter of the utmost importance. Food plays a vital role in our lives. We’re constantly arguing about food. When you visit us, the very first thing you have to do is try some of our food. Only then should you visit the cathedral. Food is like a book that tells the story of a place,” he said enthusiastically.

In the film, we only see pastries from Palermo. Just a few kilometres away, the culinary scene would look completely different. According to Pif, religion and food are the cornerstones of Italian identity. Every little town has its own specialties, so to speak. Naturally, he was asked which Czech delicacies he liked. “I wanted to try something local, but unfortunately they didn’t have anything like that here. What should I try?” he asked the audience in Karlovy Vary, and they recommended špičky and větrníky. The interpreter therefore faced the challenging task of translating “větrník” into Italian and describing it.

Food, faith – what else is missing? Football, of course. In the film, we see a character who loses his faith because of football. One of the audience members then asked whether this was based on personal experience. “Unfortunately, Italy failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup. Perhaps we should observe a minute’s silence. I experienced the match you see in the film myself – it was epic. When Italians find themselves in a desperate situation, they give it their all. I’ve asked myself whether I’m a Christian because I believe, or because I live in a strongly Christian country,” he explained.

The conversation also turned to Maradona’s legendary ‘Hand of God’ in the 1986 World Cup match against England. “I think it was a great injustice. Maradona was clever. Later on, he started to present things differently and politicised the whole thing. We may joke about it, but it didn’t happen to us. If it had happened to us, we’d be furious,” he said frankly. He was also surprised that, despite a few inappropriate jokes, his new release had not upset the Church. He had also heard that the Pope himself had seen the film and recommended it.

“When you’re in Sicily, do try some cannoli with ricotta,” said Diliberto, bringing the appetising discussion to a close.