Film

MARCELLA

Marcella Hazan changed how we cook and experience Italian food. MARCELLA is a new
documentary that tells her dramatic, delicious story.

Marcella lived an improbably eventful life. An immigrant woman trained as a scientist, she never
set foot in a kitchen until she married and moved to America in the 1950s. A childhood injury
had left her with an injured right arm, a challenge for the physical work of food preparation. But
before long she was not only preparing the Italian dishes she remembered from home, but
writing the definitive cookbooks that introduced millions of Americans to the glories of authentic
Italian cuisine.

The New York Times wrote that “the impact Mrs. Hazan had on the way America cooks Italian
food is impossible to overstate.” Julia Child called her “my mentor in all things Italian.” As
uncompromising as she was beloved, her influence went beyond cooking: “These were elemental truths that she was telling us,” one former student notes, “it wasn't just how to make Dinner.”

Marcella’s life story is interwoven with visits to chefs preparing her most iconic recipes, and
commentary by food stars Jacques Pépin, Danny Meyer, April Bloomfield, Shola Ulunloyo, Lidia
Bastianich, Rancho Gordo's Steve Sando, and a passionate chorus of friends and admirers. Her
widower and writing partner, Victor Hazan (now 96 years old) and her son, the cooking teacher
and cookbook writer Giuliano Hazan, join in recounting Marcella’s story.
Directed by Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Peter Miller (SACCO AND VANZETTI, AKA
DOC POMUS, BEDLAM), MARCELLA brings Marcella’s story to old fans and new admirers.