Witty, romantic and smart, the eagerly-awaited new film from beloved Italian satirist Pierfrancesco ‘Pif’ Diliberto (The Mafia Kills Only In Summer) - adapted from his own bestselling novel - is a hugely entertaining and gently irreverent comedy about love, faith and finding the perfect pastry.
Sicily, present day. Arturo (Pif) is a real estate agent near-infallible at his job, but far less so in love. A creature of habit, Arturo lives alone, is the weak link in his office's five-a-side football team, and nurtures a single, unwavering passion: desserts - the delights and criticisms of which he posts on social media. He especially loves the sciù (Palermo's favourite cream-filled choux buns) from the city's most celebrated pasticceria. His life lights up when he meets the owner’s daughter, the devoutly Catholic Flora (Giusy Buscemi), who's looking to rent a space to open her own patisserie. Falling instantly, hopelessly in love, Arturo is thrust into a world of belief and moral expectation far beyond his comfort zone. To win Flora over, he embarks on an increasingly absurd attempt to live by the gospel, a quest so unlikely it earns him a most unexpected spiritual advisor: the Pope himself.
By turns playful, pointed and cheeky, HOLY CANNOLI channels Pif’s distinctive gift for using comedy to explore the contradictions of contemporary Italian life, in this case the clash of religious ideology and modern-day living, as experienced by a sweet-toothed sceptic.