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1. The Best Thing I Ever Done HQ

1 year ago

Hailed as the “godfather of Brooklyn pizza,” for forty five years Domenico DeMarco, Italian émigré and father of seven, has been slinging pizzas in his legendary corner shop, Di Fara. Employing five of his children, Dom works tirelessly from morning until night hand crafting each and every pizza himself while his kids take orders and manage the mob of devoted pizza aficionados. The Best Thing I Ever Done is a portrait of DeMarco and his beloved pizzeria, an exploration of his rise to fame and an ode to pizzaioli who take their time to 'make it right.'

thebestthingieverdone.com/

Credits

Margaret Emily MacKenzie
Director, Editor, Producer
Jon Vatne
Associate Producer, Additional Sound
Jeremy Cohan
Associate Producer, Additional Cinematography

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Eat This NY 1 year ago

I made a video a while back about NY pizza and the grand finale was at Di Fara. So I always knew how delicious the pizza was, but I never fully understood the beauty of the business itself until now. Wonderful job!
Aaron Landry 1 year ago

Thanks for doing this. Di Fara is one of my favorites of all time.
DUSTYONE 1 year ago

never been there but id i like to
Mark Horowitz 1 year ago

You have nailed every aspect of the DiFara experience, as well as the man. Congratulations on an outstanding video.
Matthew Ballen 1 year ago

I'm an atheist, and yet I believe that Domenico DeMarco is touched by God. Thank you for capturing the magic.
Sarah From 1 year ago

An amazing tribute! So wonderful to see how Mr. DeMarco regards his craft. He truly puts his heart into his work and the results are magically delicious.
Mark 1 year ago

Very well done! Thanks for sharing this on Vimeo.
Erin E. Cantelo 1 year ago

Amazing work Emily!! I really have to visit NY sometime soon. :)
Joe Moya 1 year ago

Love the editing...Great and simple story
Oni 1 year ago

Lovely. Thanks for making this inspiring documentary.
;-)
Oliver Reischl 1 year ago

Oh great, now i'm hungry... :D
Marcus Ingram 1 year ago

Inspiring...I love great documentary. Plenty of detail footage. Great job!
Craig Bender 1 year ago

Lovely piece. Makes me long for the States, New York and pizza!
andrew fontana 1 year ago

Question from Italy... Are wood burning ovens forbidden in NY? Are they bad for the rating of a place for the dust or some other reason? I mean, I respect the guy for his craft and dedication, but... electric oven? Please. Guess I'm lucky to live where they make the real stuff. Interesting video though ;)
Matthew Ballen 1 year ago

We have a lot of wood burning ovens here, but for whatever reason DiFara's is ten times better than what comes out of them. It's like shooting video -- sometimes the camera is less important than who's behind it.
shyam yadav 1 year ago

exactly right matthew.
shyam yadav 1 year ago

dear margaret emily,
thank you so much for this loving tribute.

mr demarco is hands down the greatest artist i have ever met.

if you ever put this on a dvd please let me know so i can purchase one.

thanks again.

shyam
kelley kreidman 1 year ago

I love this man!!! He is one of the Greats!!! They do not make them like him anymore!!! Thank you for your wonderful documentary So touching and heartfelt. I will be there for the holidays It will be my first stop!!!! Can t wait
The Lone Ranger 1 year ago

Been here on numerous occasions and he is slow as a turtle. His sons messed up my order. Pizza isn't that good.
SMH.
Jojo Loves AndO
Joao Paglione 1 year ago

Congratulations, this is a beautiful documentation. The man really inspired me and your creation honours him. It really inspired me!
Brenda Becker 1 year ago

As great as the pizza was, what stays with me about my DiFaro visit was the sense of a deeply personal gift from an artisan to myself. I will never own a bespoke suit, a pair of handmade shoes, or a custom-painted ceiling fresco. But I had a pizza made just for me, as good as it gets, and that was a really moving experience.
rob neilson 1 year ago

I made the mistake of watching this about an hour before I could take lunch. I don't think I've ever heard my stomach growl as loudly. Great film!
shyam yadav 1 year ago

oops! i see i can download your amazing documentary right here. thanks so much.
Margaret Emily MacKenzie 1 year ago

yup! Sorry I didn't respond, but I am glad you figured out how to get it. Cheers! MEM
Professor Salt 1 year ago

Great piece of work. Thanks so much for sharing it
monteiro 1 year ago

Fantastic!!!
M Haidar Hanif 1 year ago

Really Like it. It thinks different.
to_rob2 1 year ago

Superb documentary about a wonderful man and his passion. These are the people that you will remind forever because for what they did and how they did it. This documentary gives a great inside view of his life and business.

When I come to NY, Di Fara is a must. I wish Domenico DeMarco a long, long life and that he stays healthy. I would really feel sad if I can't get the chance to eat one of his pizzas.
Jack Kalish 1 year ago

This was beautiful, great job!
Mark Spencer 1 year ago

Beautiful piece, thank you
Bruce MacKenzie 1 year ago

Congratulations, Emily, on your acceptance at the 2011 Santa Barbara Film Festival with this short film.
roadography 10 months ago

Awesome story, and brilliantly told. Excellent video.
Elisenda 9 months ago

really well done video, congratulations!
Captionten 8 months ago

If you ever wanted a definition for the word success, then Domenico DeMarco is that definition. Working with passion and having a purpose to get out of bed each morning. A great video.
Paule Han 8 months ago

old-old Mr. Han )))
Theo Avgerinos films 7 months ago

Loved it, well done!
rob neilson 6 months ago

YUUUSSSS going to Di Fara's today! Time to scratch it off my list of shizz to do before I move out of NYC!
John Craig Ross 5 months ago

Congrats on getting into the NYC FFF!
Leonardo Zevallos 5 months ago

It reminds me of a quote by Steve Jobs:

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle."
Francesco Paciocco 2 months ago

great work, a beautiful and authentic portrait of a legend (coming from a brooklynite). a shame this place got shut down recently...
Susanna 1 month ago

Nooooooooooo!!!!!
Mauro Di Ianni 4 weeks ago

It doesn't seem so, sir: facebook.com/difarapizza
Francesco Paciocco 4 weeks ago

we're back in business!!!!!!!! :)
Mauro Di Ianni 3 weeks ago

you can't help but being in the middle of the shot uh? ;)
Nicholas J. Kinar 1 month ago

A delicious documentary of an unassuming man whose restaurant seating area belies the great fortitude of his culinary work.
Mauro Di Ianni 4 weeks ago

The secret is the Italian way: take your time, do it with passion, be humble, respect traditions, that's it. I bet it tastes good, even though it still looks like "American" pizza to me...Pretty cool documentary btw, I enjoyed it. Cheers from Italy.
Maurice Morell 1 week ago

This is so beautyful. My eyes get wet. It is everything in it I tell my customers to do, to reach: Excellence. It talks for itself.
After the Harvest 1 week ago

Amazing!!!! I hope you don't mind, I shared it on my blog: aftertheharvest.blogspot.com