Director Roberto Serrini’s latest documentary about the untold story of Penne Alla Vodka entitled “Disco Sauce” won two Platinum awards this week, taking home a Platinum MarCom Award and Platinum Viddy Award for Documentary Film.

I am super excited to have this film be celebrated on the festival and awards circuit. Everyone that contributed to this amazing project expects great things to come out of it, being about one of the lesser known mysteries in the culinary world. We had a brilliant team put this film together, and some wonderful voices adding to the conversation, all still leaving us a little hungry for more, which is how we like it.

After the success of his previous documentary “Italy In Bocca”, Roberto Serrini and partner Peter Boggia decided to take the series a bit further. The film which was produced over 2022 takes a deep dive look at the origins of Penne Alla Vodka, which turn out to be way more bizarre then the viewer could expect. From there the culinary team of Boggia and Serrini sleuth their way to the truth behind this sordid dish, interviewing celeb chefs, epicurean royalty, and even scientists to find out what makes this dish so popular.

As the film has been submitted to premiere at festivals like SXSW and Tribeca it is not currently available for online viewing, but will be in the coming months as award season wraps up. Until then we’ll just have to let the wonder of Penne alla Vodka remain a mystery.

About the Film:

Penne Alla Vodka is America’s dirty little secret. You can have it hungover from the diner, or for 40 bucks a plate at the finest restaurants. While it’s secret origin might surprise you, it’s sordid history will baffle you, which is why two best friends decided to deep dive into what’s lovingly called “disco sauce” and discover it’s secret powers that polarize the culinary world like no other dish. Grilling celeb chefs, exploring NYC’s best markets, having it analyzed by scientists, even sourcing illegal ingredients for this ridiculous dish is no match for these two cooking cousins who will, once and for all, put an end to the debate of what Penne Alla Vodka should be.

This is more then just a dish, it’s a metaphor for society as a whole. Have we gone food crazy? Yes. Will we ever be satisfied? Never.

A film by Serrini www.robertoserrini.com

Film Featuring:

Chef JJ Johnson of James Beard award winning Fieldtrip
Chef Jae Lee of Nowon NYC
Chef Pasquale Cozzolino of Ribalta
Chef Jeremy Spector of Brindle Room
Chef Gaetano Arnone of Babbo
The Father of Molecular Gastronomy Herve This
Chemist Federic Meylan of the University of Lausanne
Atef Boulabbi “the spice queen” of SOS Chefs
Anthony Marinese head distiller of Kings Country Distillery
Peter Boggia owner of Moto Borgotaro

About Director Roberto Serrini:

Filmmaker and Travel Documentarian Roberto Serrini has always been looking for delicious stories to share. Winner of multiple festival honors and awards including Three Taste Awards, a Gold Cube, four Marcom/Viddy Awards, and Silver Pencil, his films about food and travel have an overwhelming desire to surprise and delight leaving audiences always hungry for a bit more. Director Statement I’ve always been passionate about making amazing, fun content about the things we unknowingly love. Dedicating a life to travel and documentary, I’ve had the honor to tell dozens of unique and beautiful stories through my lens. I truly love handcrafting these films, producing, shooting, and editing them on my own terms, so that a unique perspective can always ring true. This, the latest of of my absurd work, will hopefully leave you full, but craving just a bite more.

About MarCom Awards

Congratulations, based on the evaluation of our judges, you are an award recipient in the MarCom Awards 2022 competition.

MarCom Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals. Entries come from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, public relations firms, design shops, production companies, and freelancers.

MarCom Awards is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. The international organization consists of several thousand creative professionals. The Association oversees awards and recognition programs, provides judges, and sets standards for excellence.

As part of its mission, AMCP fosters and supports the efforts of creative professionals who contribute their unique talents to public service and charitable organizations. MarCom entrants are not charged to enter work they produced pro bono. Over the past few years, AMCP’s Advisory Board has given out over $280,000 in grants and donations to support philanthropic endeavors.

Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talents exceed a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry.  There were over 6,000 entries from throughout the United States, Canada, and over 43 other countries in the 2022 MarCom Awards competition.

MarCom’s Platinum Award is presented to those entries judged to be among the most outstanding entries in the competition. Platinum Winners are recognized for their excellence in terms of quality, creativity, and resourcefulness. About 18 percent won this award.

The Gold Award is presented to those entries judged to exceed the high standards of the industry norm. Approximately 22 percent were Gold Winners. Honorable Mention certificates are granted to those entries that meet the expectations of the judges. Approximately 13 percent were Honorable Mention winners.

Being a Platinum or Gold Winner is a tremendous achievement symbolized by the intricately detailed MarCom statuette. The MarCom graces the trophy cases of some of the top business and communication firms in the world. The statuette was created by Society Awards, a high-end design and manufacturing firm that recently updated the Golden Globe, Clio, MTV, and Academy of Country Music awards.

Platinum and Gold Winners are listed on our website at www.marcomawards.com/winners. The winner database can be searched by city, state and category. If logo, social media and project information and credits were not inputted during registration, you can log back into My Account and add them.

Platinum and Gold winners can enter the online store for downloadable graphics, a news release, general information, and order forms. www.marcomawards.com/store/

Again, congratulations on your achievement. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

MarCom Awards

About Viddy Awards

Dear Viddy Awards Entrant,

Congratulations on your recent win. Based on the evaluation of our judges, you are an award recipient in the 2022 Viddy Awards competition. 

Viddy Awards is an international competition honoring video excellence in a digital world. Viddy traces its roots to 1994 when it was known as the Videographer Awards.

Viddy Awards’ categories are the products of the industry’s evolving tools, including, long and short form videos, broadcast and non-broadcast television programs, commercials, social media videos, podcasts, remote learning, animation, and virtual and augmented reality.

Viddy entries come from video production companies, cable and broadcast television operations, advertising, design, digital, and public relations firms, corporate communication departments, and individuals. Entrants include videographers, cinematographers, writers, editors, directors, producers, digital artists, influencers, account executives, and other creatives.

Viddy Awards is administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). The international organization oversees awards and recognition programs and honors outstanding achievement and service to the profession.

As part of its mission, AMCP fosters and supports the efforts of creative professionals who contribute their unique talents to public service and charitable organizations.

AMCP does not charge entrants for work they produced pro bono for nonprofits, and in recent years has given out over $280,000 in grants to support philanthropic endeavors.

Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. About 18 percent of entries won Platinum, the top award. About 16 percent won Gold and approximately 12 percent were Honorable Mention winners.

Being a Platinum or Gold Winner is a tremendous achievement symbolized by the intricately detailed platinum and gold statuette. Award winners can enter the Viddy store for downloadable graphics, a news release, general information, and to order awards.

Again, congratulations on your achievement. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Viddy Awards