Slice of Life. The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts. NY-based Aussie filmmaking duo bring new film home for World Premiere at SXSW Sydney

by FilmInk Staff

NEW YORK-BASED AUSSIE FILMMAKING DUO BRING NEW FILM HOME FOR WORLD PREMIERE AT SXSW SYDNEY

US FESTIVAL SCREENINGS AND AUSTRALIAN CINEMA RELEASE ANNOUNCED

Celebrated documentarians take their “slice of life” style literally

The World Premiere screening of the highly anticipated new documentary from Urtext Films takes place at SXSW Sydney on Saturday October 19, 2024 just days ahead of its North American premiere at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival.

SLICE OF LIFE: THE AMERICAN DREAM. IN FORMER PIZZA HUTS. will also have a multi-city theatrical release in Australia this November.

When an iconic building takes on a new purpose and the people inside are willing to open up about their lives, the duo behind Urtext Films – Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker – are sure to be on hand to document those stories.

Known internationally for their beautifully photographed and delicately probing portrait-style filmmaking, their “slice of life” approach – acclaimed in their previous films Barbecue and We Don’t Deserve Dogs – gets literal as their new film serves up fascinating insights into how former Pizza Hut buildings have been repurposed, and who the people are inside them.

SLICE OF LIFE also cuts into the deep dish of nostalgia, looking at the history of America’s favourite pizza restaurant chain and gaining exclusive access to 93-year old Dan Carney, one of the two brothers that founded Pizza Hut.

Filmed entirely within the United States during 2023 and 2024, SLICE OF LIFE focuses on the stories of six businesses ranging from an LGBTQ+ church in Florida to a karaoke bar in Texas, a seafood restaurant in South Carolina to a cannabis store in Colorado, a BBQ joint in Illinois and a Mexican eatery in Virginia that has given new joy and hope to immigrants. All exemplify the heart and unity of community, the welcoming inclusivity and renewed purpose, the vibrant stories and inspiring people behind independent businesses. And all align with the spirit that Dan and Frank Carney brought to their original Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas in 1958.

For good measure, the Pizza Hut Museum in Wichita also gets screen time, along with keen observations on the intersection of history, architecture, food, family and fandom in interviews with former Pizza Hut executives, historians and self-confessed Pizza Hut nerds.

It’s exciting and gratifying to Salleh and Tucker that they have been invited to Wichita’s own film festival, the respected Tallgrass Film Festival, as special guests to screen SLICE OF LIFE following its North American premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival, America’s longest-running competitive film festival, in its prestigious Documentary Program.

Australian Pizza Hut buildings might not be included, but Salleh and Tucker have done plenty of research into the subject in their home country, and are thrilled to be accompanying their film for its World Premiere at the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival next month, before a multi-city theatrical release in November. Hundreds of thousands of Australians have fond memories of meals shared with family and friends at Pizza Huts and some of the original buildings here have similarly been repurposed with new businesses and lives lived.

Salleh and Tucker are renowned for their skill at honing in on a particular subject, examining microcosms of society that offer a wider lens into humanity on a global scale. It’s what makes them international festival favourites and SLICE OF LIFE has already whetted the appetites of audiences of great documentary filmmaking.

Says director and cinematographer, Salleh: “Our first two features, Barbecue, and We Don’t Deserve Dogs, were produced across 24 countries, in 24 different languages. The locations were grand and cinematic – from the mountaintops of rural Transylvania and the grassland steppes of Mongolia, to refugee camps on the Syrian border and the bustling neon-lit streets of Tokyo. This film presented a different challenge. How do you bring that epic and grand scale to the parking lots and dated exteriors of old Pizza Hut buildings? I was excited by the opportunity to shoot something grand in a setting so familiar to so many people.”

Inspired by the American road trip movie genre, the duo travelled light and tight, forming instant connections with their subjects. Says Tucker, “We love the intimacy that we can create with it just being the two of us. We understand the challenges of running a small business, and we like to think we’re quite entrepreneurial as well. I think we have a lot in common with the people we were filming.”

Adds Salleh: “We had this criteria for this movie: we want to meet people from all across America, but they have to be operating out of an old Pizza Hut restaurant. That limits you a little bit, and yet we found such diversity, such different people, different opinions, different lives, different stories.”

At SXSW Sydney Salleh and Tucker will be panelists in a Screen Industry Session titled Beyond Australia: Screening at SXSW about navigating international festivals, sales and more. They will also participate in Screen Mentorship sessions during the festival.

Produced by Urtext Films, SLICE OF LIFE: THE AMERICAN DREAM. IN FORMER PIZZA HUTS. is directed and photographed by Matthew Salleh, and produced and recorded by Rose Tucker. Running time is 83 minutes.