Emerging Filmmakers Showcase: ‘Beneath the Sole’
March 22 @ 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm
The Lindsay’s next Emerging Filmmakers Showcase is an exciting documentary about a beloved Sewickley family and institution.
Beneath the Sole focuses on Mario Ulizzi, who opened Sewickley Shoe Repair in 1999 and remains its owner. Director Ryan Rust paints an intimate portrait of a beloved local craftsman whose spirit is restored by the community whose shoes he fixes.
This 30-minute documentary will play twice at The Lindsay on Sunday, March 22. You can RSVP for either a 1 p.m. or 2:20 p.m. showtime. Both screenings are free and will be followed by a Q&A with Rust, Ulizzi and producer Krystle Gandy.
“This premiere is a celebration of the Sewickley community,” says Rust, of Moon Township. “And it now comes full circle, premiering at the best theater in Pittsburgh!”
Rust and his wife, Caitlin, moved to Moon about four years ago. They love grabbing coffee and walking around Sewickley on a lovely spring, summer or fall day. During one of those excursions, Caitlin pointed out Sewickley Shoe Repair and told her husband, “You should tell their story.”
It didn’t take much research to convince Rust that Ulizzi and Sewickley Shoe Repair could be fascinating documentary subjects. He reached out to Sewickley Shoe Repair in March 2025 and quickly established contact with Ulizzi and his wife, Carla.
“If you ask anyone in town, Mario has a unique way of connecting with people,” says Rust. “From the moment we first met to discuss the idea of telling his story, I just had a feeling it was going to be a great one. I have only known Mario for almost a year, and I feel like I have known him my whole life.”
Production began in July 2025, and the film was completed late last year. Rust credited Grandy, also the board president of Women in Film & Media Pittsburgh, and Beneath the Sole‘s crew for their instrumental roles in bringing this project to fruition.
Rust is no stranger to The Lindsay. His documentary HIVE, about a Pittsburgh-area beekeeper, played here in 2024 as part of the Theater’s Emerging Filmmakers Showcase. He’s looking forward to showing his latest film in a venue that “truly holds a special place in my heart.”
Beneath the Sole will start streaming on WQED+ the day after its Lindsay premiere. Rust hopes that everyone will check out this testament to “how a community can touch someone’s life in so many ways.”
“The world is always pushing to shop and buy local,” he says. “Sewickley is a town where you can do all that and even catch a movie! The audience will walk away with a deeper understanding behind the craft of shoe repair. … I truly hope that after people see this film, they look for their local shoe repair shop.”
