Mid-August Lunch

This small but entertaining set of DVD extras has the same naturalistic feel as the film it accompanies. There are two interviews with director Gianni Di Gregorio. He's an entertaining interviewee and talks a lot about the inspiration for the film - drawn from his own experience of living with his mother - in the first, shorter, interview segment. "It's a film that contains a lot that's real," he explains, before going on to discuss the casting of the central roles.

The second interview runs at around 13 minutes and touches on broader issues of cinema in Italy - such as the fact that people his age in Rome grew up seeing two or three films a week at the cinema. He also talks about the way that the cast helped shape the film and reveals that the only time he got angry on the set was when the crew swapped the nice wine he was drinking most of the time throughout for a cheaper alternative.

The final extra here, aside from the trailer and Artificial Eye trailer reel, is a 20-minute segment in which Gregorio visits the key members of his cast including Valeria De Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, Maria Calì, Grazia Cesarini Sforza. All talk about the wonderful opportunity the film was and the thrill ride it gave them - particularly attending Venice Film Festival. As Cesarini puts it, it was "one of life's gifts". Sweet, warm-hearted, affectionate.