The Indo-Italian food connect

Food

Both Indians and Italians love their food, and if this mutual love wasn't enough, like us, they love their films too. Italindia, a two-day event on food and cinema in India and Italy will celebrate the cultural history of food of the countries and the role of food in our cinema. The event has been organised by Somaiya Centre for Lifelong Learning and The Italian Embassy Cultural Centre - Mumbai.

For those who think Italian food is all about pizza and pasta, day one will begin with an introduction to the history of Italian food, starting from its Roman origins to the change that took place through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. This session will also present an analysis of documents and archaeological studies that put forth the role played by food in various fields. The second day will outline references of food in the mythological texts of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The next two sessions of the day will discuss the role played by food in the cinema of both the countries, such as the role of food in neorealist and arthouse cinema as well as commedia all'italiana (Italian comedy), and the analogies of food and aesthetics in Natyashastra. The speakers of the session are Luca Bernardini, who has studied philosophy and history at the University of Padua and worked for Slow Food, an international organisation that promotes traditional food, and Indranil Chakravarty, a film academic and writer who studied at the International Film School in Havana (Cuba) and has been a professor of Screenplay and Film History at FTII (Pune) and Whistling Woods.