There are movies that spend years getting off the ground, going through script rewrites, cast changes, and director switches, and enough money to feed a small country \u2014 and there are endeavors like \u201cSunday at Il Posto Accanto,\u201d which seems to have risen organically from a favorite East Village eatery. Located at 190 East 2nd St., it\u2019s the spot that foodie Padma Lakshmi lists as one of her favorites \u2014 and she\u2019s not alone.<\/p>\n
Director Seth Zvi Rosenfeld, who was born and raised in the neighborhood, was in town to make another movie altogether when that project fell apart. Julio Pena, co-owner of Il Posto with his wife, Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta, invited Rosenfeld to the restaurant. \u201cIt was one of the crazier Sundays that I remember, and I\u2019ve been going there since 1995,\u201d Rosenfeld recalled. \u201cIt was a drunken, wild night, and I woke up the next day thinking that I should be making a movie at the restaurant instead of the other one. In about a week, I had some 60-odd scenes written on index cards on the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
His first call was to his producers, who agreed that he had the makings of a movie. The next was to his old friend actor\/writer Danny Hoch, who quickly agreed to collaborate. Next up was actor Victor Rasuk, another friend, and then to Pena, who had to be convinced not only to let them shoot in the restaurant, but to be in it as well, with Valminuta as a co-star.<\/p>\n
Set in the post-COVID lockdown era, Il Posto had become not just a location but a hub for the community during a trying and uncertain time. \u201cNever did I think that I would do anything of this sort,\u201d admitted Pena, who had never acted before \u2014except maybe a bit growing up. \u201cI\u2019m an only child, so I had to act a bit so I wouldn\u2019t get my ass kicked for all the bad things I did as a child.\u201d What\u2019s exciting for him is \u201cnot seeing myself on film, but seeing how the restaurant is portrayed. It\u2019s a big shout-out to the food industry and the time we were living in. We were just trying to figure out what the next step was, you know, when you\u2019re responsible for twenty-something people who work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valminuta, who is also the furthest thing from an actor, had no problem playing herself. But, while she confesses that the experience was amazing, she is not looking forward to seeing herself on screen. For her, \u201cthe movie is so many things. It\u2019s not about Posto Accanto, it\u2019s about the magic of the neighborhood place that keeps the magic here.\u201d Although she had her reservations about disrupting her customers while filming, but she was relieved that \u201ceveryone enjoyed themselves very much.\u201d The entire shoot took place over six days in the summer of 2021, with two days spent at Il Posto.<\/p>\n
The leads, Hoch and Rasuk, are experienced actors but were often working without a net. \u201cThere was a ton of improvisation,\u201d Rosenfeld informed us. Many of the scenes were written as scenarios, which gave the leads an opportunity to create. \u201cWe rehearsed a lot, but the least I knew, the more organic it became,\u201d said Rasuk. Some of those scenes grew out of Hoch\u2019s stories (he wrote a couple of the main monologues ) and at least one situation may or may not have been drawn from Rasuk\u2019s life (\u201cNo comment!\u201d Rasuk said).<\/p>\n
Lisa Binns, a regular patron since the place opened, is another first-time actor who found herself in a major role in the film. \u201cQuite frankly, I didn\u2019t really act in this movie,\u201d she admitted. \u201cI was playing myself. If they made me remember lines, it would have been an epic fail.\u201d Another frequent flier, Michael Pankov, has been a patron there for around 15 years and can be found there almost every Sunday with his friends. \u201cIt was a little surprising seeing myself in the film,\u201d he noted, \u201cbut it brought up wonderful memories of the time when the film was shot. I believe that the film perfectly captures the essence of the restaurant. It\u2019s always great food, great wine, amazing people, and the feeling that you\u2019re with your extended family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The theme of community is ever-present, and as Binns said, \u201cthe movie feels like a love letter to Il Posto and the community.\u201d Rosenfeld\u2019s takeaway is that \u201cwe need each other. Sometimes there\u2019s a sense in the world that there are things that are more important than the person next to you, but I\u2019m looking out for a sense of community. The neighborhood restaurant is a gathering place for the tribe.\u201d \u201cI want to second that sentiment,\u201d said Hoch. \u201cNew York City, despite how extremely the world has contorted post-COVID, is still New York City. That tapestry of community can survive anything, no matter what crisis is befalling us.\u201d \u201cSunday at Il Posto Accanto\u201d is now available on AppleTV+, and will soon be on Tubi and YouTube. Further info online at www.sundayatilpostoaccantofilm.com.<\/p>\n
A: Il Posto Accanto is located at 190 East 2nd St. in the East Village.<\/p>\n
A: The owners of Il Posto Accanto are Julio Pena and his wife, Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta.<\/p>\n
A: The movie "Sunday at Il Posto Accanto" is about the community that comes together at Il Posto Accanto, a neighborhood restaurant in the East Village, during the post-COVID lockdown era.<\/p>\n
A: The main actors in the movie are Danny Hoch, Victor Rasuk, Julio Pena, and Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta.<\/p>\n
A: The movie "Sunday at Il Posto Accanto" is now available on AppleTV+, and will soon be on Tubi and YouTube.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Il Posto Accanto There are movies that spend years getting off the ground, going through script rewrites, cast changes, and director switches, and enough money to feed a small country \u2014 and there are endeavors like \u201cSunday at Il Posto Accanto,\u201d which seems to have risen organically from a favorite East Village eatery. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dining"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.amny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/il-posto-bob-krasner-2025-5.jpg?quality=51&w=1200&p=q&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24268"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24271,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24268\/revisions\/24271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}