A cinephile’s dinner date with La Dolce Vita

A BFI screening at the Bulgari Hotel followed by an Italian feast at Sette in honour of the Fellini classic.

January 2020 marks the centenary of the birth of Federico Fellini, one of cinema’s most iconic filmmakers. The British Film Institute Southbank is marking the milestone with a retrospective (running until the end of February), and a UK-wide BFI re-release of the Fellini classic La Dolce Vita. The event includes an exclusive screening of the film at London’s Bulgari Hotel in its private 47-seat cinema on January 26, which will be followed by dinner at Sette, a restaurant situated in the same Knightsbridge building, where diners will discover Italian fare inspired by scenes from the epic (priced £75 per person).

Italian restaurant Sette will host a dinner following a screening of La Dolce Vita in London’s Bulgari Hotel

The La Dolce Vita screening/dinner event – which will take place on January 26 – marks the centenary of Fellini’s birth | Image: BFI

Guests will be greeted with champagne and popcorn for an introduction to the masterpiece, which was made in Rome during the height of the “Hollywood on the Tiber” era of the 1950s and ’60s when the city became a focus for international filmmaking. Once guests have enjoyed the film, which features Anita Ekberg’s famous dip in the Trevi Fountain, they will proceed to Sette for a four-course menu featuring antipasti of Italian ham with Pontina buffalo mozzarella, chicory, anchovy and pecorino salad, and artichokes Roman-style. The shared pasta course of meat ragu fettuccine via Veneto and bucatini amatriciana-style will be followed by chicken cacciatore. And, of course, “the sweet life” would not be complete without a shared dessert. Think cream puffs and homemade chocolate pizza.

Sette’s four-course feast will be inspired by Fellini’s 1961 classic

An iconic image from the film, which was made in Rome at the height of the “Hollywood on the Tiber” era