Listen to Mamma!

With Anchovies...Without Mamma has long been a passion project of mine. It is a film that was born within my own frustrations and search for identity. Not only did I want to make this movie, but felt I had to make it. The other scripts I wrote on spec were bigger comedies that were designed for stars, studios and budgets. They were never something that I truly felt were a vehicle to explore my voice as a filmmaker. Mamma was a story that was 100 percent me with 100 percent possibility.

I had a vision for this film, which was greater than the short film that exists now. The story was much broader before I felt the need to pare it down. I knew that to shoot the original script it would call for more money than I was equipped with. In the end, I felt that the best way to approach this journey was with one first small step. I structured a project that I felt retained the soul of the original film, but also helped me develop a vision that was tangible before trying to inspire the confidence of external investors. With the original vision in my back pocket for a future feature length picture, I went into production.

The process was cathartic in a sense, helping me deal with loss within my own life, as well as the loss that existed within the lives of my characters. These factors made everything surreal and hyper-real at the same time. Whatever the case was, I was making this film one way or another. There was no chance to turn my back on it now.

Mamma’s roots stretched for miles in various directions. From a need to speak up about a culture that I felt was fading, to the loss of some people very dear to me, there was no shortage of material to draw from. As I worked in various pizzerias to earn money for school, it all became clear to me. Martin Scorcese’s “Mean Streets” were ridden with mafia while mine came covered in Mozzarella. This was my story to tell.