Plett Food & Film at Zoox: Cinema Paradiso
In partnership with Plett’s newest restaurant, ZOOX PLETT on the Telluric Wine Estate, this year’s delicious film and compelling food pairing is bursting with love and flavour at Plett Food & Film.
An absolute treat for the senses, the event will be presenting the Academy Award Winning film “Cinema Paradiso” paired with Zoox signature pizza selection and unforgettable movie and musical magic, featuring baritone Mike Bhayibhile, recently returned from his run at the Berlin Opera Academy. Karen Dudley will be whetting your appetite for love with her Love Panino.
The 1988 film – set in a small Sicilian town was a box office and critical success. Consensus among critics is that “Cinema Paradiso is a life-affirming ode to the power of youth, nostalgia, and to movies themselves.”
All food, entertainment and a complimentary drink are included. A cash bar is available.
LINE-UP FOR THE NIGHT
- 5.00 pm: Doors open. Complimentary welcome drink5.30 pm: Karen Dudley, her Love Panino demonstration and book signing
- 6.30 pm: Cinema Paradiso
- 8.30 pm: Zoox selection of signature Pizza 9.00 – 9.15 pm: Mike Bhayibhile – Cantare
ABOUT KAREN DUDLEY
Karen Dudley returns to Plett Food & Film on its 10th anniversary, having been the very first celebrity chef at the event in 2013 where she wooed the audience with her Love Sandwich. In celebration of the 10 years she is back with her Love Panino – crafted and constructed with ingredients guided by your experiences of amore.After closing her beloved Cape Town restaurant, The Kitchen, due to lockdown, Karen Dudley embarked on a journey to rediscover her love for the alchemy of food, and cooking for her family. It was a journey that helped her redefine herself after being a restaurateur for eleven years, and has come together in her beautiful new cookbook, “Onwards”.
The book will be on sale on the night, with Karen on hand to sign.
ABOUT MIKE BHAYIBHILE
Mike Bhayibhile fell in love with music at church during primary school. He relocated to Plett from East London in 1998 with his family, enrolling at Murray High School resuscitating and leading the school choir to runner-up position in a national competition. He was coached by Gwyneth Lloyd, a venerated vocal trainer from East London, and the internationally renowned opera giant Luthando Qave. In 2014 he enrolled at Fort Hare university and pursued a Bachelor of Music. Mike worked with the OR Tambo Choral Festival, the South African Tertiary Institute, and in 2017 his choir collaborated with the five time Grammy Awards winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Fort Hare University. A few years on, through Operatunity (a school of opera music) and on submission of the recorded Plett Arts Festival 2020 concerts as an audition, the Berlin Opera Academy in Germany offered Mike a full scholarship that he was able to take up in 2022, after the pandemic.
In Berlin Mike prepared the role of Peter in the opera Hansel and Gretel, under the guidance of vocal coaches Marija Struckova and Lorenzo di Stefano, director Katrin Hilbe and conductor Lutz de Veer, delivering a standout acting and vocal performance in his first full opera. In a final concert, he performed largo al factotum from Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) by G Rossini and will be performing a piece from this opera on the night of Plett Food & Film, amongst other favourite light arias.
Mike’s dream of living and performing in Europe is always with him, driving him to strive for the possibility of working the European opera season. In the meanwhile he is living in Kwanokuthula involved with choral work and vocal coaching
