Queens filmmaker hopes to bring ‘croissoli’ to life in new film

Move aside cronut — there’s a new pastry in town and it’s making its debut on the big screen.

Queens filmmaker Savannah Rice is bringing to life the new hybrid pastry the croissoli — part croissant, part cannoli — in her first film as a director, “Holy Croissoli.”

As a film producing and production design major, the Sunnyside resident came up with the idea of the film with her friend David Massa as a play on the idea of the cronut. Rice decided to instead mix her two favorite pastries — croissants and cannolis.

“’Holy Croissoli’ is about something that’s so important to all of us: Food!” Rice wrote in the Kickstarter description for the film. “Food is the subtle glue that binds us together, the one experience that transcends race, culture, or religion.”

The film is a 12-minute comedy, which follows the story of a chef who is in the midst of his fame with the new pastry but doesn’t want to just go down as the guy who created the croissoli.

However, he becomes engulfed in the idea of being a celebrity that he runs the risk of losing a friend. The film takes on the world of “flash celebrity” through the use of food and tells a story of wanting attention and fame.

“It’s funny, but it’s also very cute,” Rice said. “It touches on society today and I think that’s the statement I wanted to make.”

To fund the overall project, Rice, who is also working with producer Dan Finley, has turned to Kickstarter to raise a goal of $8,000 that will go towards production locations, food, cast and crew, props and production design, and equipment.

And the creation of the croissoli went just beyond an idea for the film, Rice actually decided to really bake the pastry – first as just a selling point for the campaign but now as an added perk if you donate a certain amount.

The croissoli — whose recipe came from one of Rice’s childhood friends — is created with the use of croissant dough, cannoli cream and friend in peanut oil.

People who pledge $10 or more to the Kickstarter campaign will received the croissoli recipe and those who donate $100 or more will have a dozen of the treats delivered to a home or office.

Rice even took the treat out onto the street to have people taste it and she said she was met with positive reactions with most people rating the pasty a 9 or 10 on a scale from 1 to 10.

“People loved it,” she said. “They were like ‘oh my god, this is really good’ and ‘this is amazing.’”

Shooting for “Holy Croissoli” is expected for mid-March with a completion date in June. Rice said she also plans to submit the film to festivals.

For more information or to donate, visit “Holy Croissoli” on Kickstarter.