Five years ago, Carlsbad surfer and artist Chris Del Moro decided that in order to better move forward in his life, he needed to go back. With Santa Barbara surf filmmaker Jason Baffa, Del Moro returned to his native Italy to walk the streets of his childhood, visit his grandparents’ abandoned apartment, break bread with friends new and old and catch some waves.

The result was “Bella Vita,” a cinematic love letter to Tuscany that helps kick off the San Diego Italian Film Festival this week with a screening at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at the La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.