STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After more than a decade working on horror films, South Beach native Matt Provenzano is stepping into the director’s chair for his feature-length directorial debut, the heartfelt comedy “I Dream of Pizza.”
The feature-length comedy is rooted in heritage and the American dream. It follows pizza-making prodigy Roberto, who emigrates from Italy to New York City to start his own pizzeria.
Soon after his arrival, Roberto accidentally finds himself in the middle of mob life, facing a high-stakes battle while chasing his passion.
Provenzano is teaming up with longtime collaborators Fuzz on the Lens Productions and actors, including Michael Leavy, Antoinette Crowe Legacy and Michael Barra to bring the film to life.
From an app to production
Provenzano’s new film idea began as a note he wrote on an app on his phone a decade ago — a place he keeps ideas for movies, short films or podcasts.
“I’ve always had these ideas. One was about someone who opens a restaurant that gets flocked by mobsters, but I could never really find a hook,” he said.
That changed when he created a character named Roberto, inspired by Italian actor and director Roberto Benigni.
Provenzano said his character Roberto is an “eternal optimist with an excitable ball of energy” who embodies the spirit of Italian heritage. As the film idea continued to grow, he realized he had to involve pizza.
“What encapsulated all of this was to make the entire thing about pizza, which, to me, is silly, tongue-in-cheek, very comical, and not meant to be taken seriously. As soon as I came up with the pizza hook, I knew I had a funny enough idea to write a story around it,” Provenzano said.
Not your average mob story
I Dream of Pizza stands out because it’s not a film centered around the mafia.
“I wouldn’t consider it a mafia movie. I would consider it a character piece,” Provenzano said. “It’s about Roberto, about dreaming, about passions, and about letting them overtake you — what it means to live a life filled with pursuing a goal and following a passion. Mobsters are just a backdrop.”
Provenzano said the difference between his film and mob classics like “Goodfellas” or “The Godfather” is that Roberto accidentally stumbles into the situation.
“Imagine a character who has no earthly business being there just accidentally stumbles into it. It’s about him — Roberto,” he said.
Shaped by experience
Provenzano says his past experiences shape the way he approaches his films today. After graduating from college, he realized that if he wanted to make movies and tell stories, he needed real-world experiences to draw from.
“It influences it in every way imaginable because it’s not just experiences on set, but experiences in my entire life,” he said. “So if all I know is about making movies, then what do I do about that?”
He noted that he needed to “have a life outside of that scope of creating, of directing, of being on set constantly if you want inspiration to strike you.” That’s how he got the idea for his new film, “I Dream of Pizza.”
Influenced by the Island
Born and raised on Staten Island in an Italian American family, Provenzano said “it would be hard not to be influenced by Staten Island.”
He described his upbringing in a close-knit “very stereotypical Italian American family” and said it’s impossible not to let “the blood of the Island” influence his projects.
While the film is set in New York City, he said although the borough isn’t explicitly named, anyone from Staten Island would likely recognize it. “It’s really important to me to showcase that this came from Staten Island, not Hollywood or Manhattan,” Provenzano said.
From horror to comedy
Looking back on his previous work as an editor and collaborator on horror films like the “Terrifier” series, “Screamboat” and “Stream,” Provenzano said he’s somewhat familiar with comedy, thanks in part to longtime collaborators Fuzz on the Lens Productions.
“The folks who are producing this film, Fuzz on the Lens, they’re pretty horror-centric. But at the same time, I’ve known them for over 10 years, and the first film they made that made a big splash was a comedy. It was called ‘Abnormal Attraction,’” Provenzano said.
“They’ve always wanted to be more involved with comedy, so with this film, I Dream of Pizza, it’s kind of giving all of us the opportunity to showcase our entire range in the sense that we’re not just horror guys anymore. We can do anything,” he said.
For over 12 years, Fuzz on the Lens Productions has been creating films, starting with childhood theater and home movies, then progressing to a variety of projects including short films for their high school TV studio and full-length documentaries and films in college.
The Staten Island-based production company is widely known for its work in indie horror films and has been a key partner with Provenzano in bringing “I Dream of Pizza” to life.
Stepping into the director’s chair
Since childhood, Provenzano has been invested in making movies, working with cameras and directing. Throughout high school and college, he created and directed short films, entering them into festivals. Later, he became an editor on well-known horror films like “Terrifier,” but he still wanted to fulfill his dream of directing full-time.
“I realized in the last few years that the only way I’m going to achieve a goal like that is to just kind of shut up and do it. So that’s why I think this is the right time for a directorial debut on this scale,” he said.
For “I Dream of Pizza,” he said he intends it to be shown in theaters and countrywide.
“This is me essentially introducing the entire world to my voice, and not just my voice but everyone — there’s a lot of really talented people working on this. I want to showcase all of our efforts and passions. We’re not just this little backyard ragtag group of filmmakers anymore; we’re really painting on a big canvas here,” he said.
Pre-production underway
Provenzano said the team is still raising the remaining funds needed to begin full production and filming. They’re planning a 17-day shoot with a brief segment filmed in Italy.
“The first 10 minutes of the film take place in Italy, and we wanted to very bravely show that at the very beginning of the film we’re not in somebody’s backyard, but we’re in Italy. We’re not a small shoestring budget; we actually went to Italy and filmed this,” he said.
What viewers can expect
“I list it as a comedy-drama. For audiences who want to know what this will be like, expect something silly, a little tongue-in-cheek, but also very heartfelt and sincere,” Provenzano said.
He added, “It’s like a slice-of-life kind of film, where you’re just following this character, and as long as you like the main character, you’re on board. The main character of Roberto is a very hard character not to like.”
Provenzano said he also wants to showcase the best of Italian cuisine, especially pizza.
Island talent
For Provenzano, sharing his upcoming film with Staten Islanders is important to him as he wants to give back to the community artistically.
“I want to showcase that the art community on Island has risen so considerably in the past 15 years, in the past 10 years. With Pete Davidson and Impractical Jokers, and Colin Jost, but also Fuzz on the Lens Productions,” he said.
“We get a bad reputation but at the same time, we’re filled with such wonderful creators…I think that’s really important to me that we can do it if we just work hard,” he added.