2008-2009

Documented Italians

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Buddy: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Notorious Mayor

(2007), 86 min.

Cherry Arnold, dir.

As the longest-serving mayor in recent history, Vincent “Buddy” Cianci of Providence, Rhode Island remains one of the country’s most controversial political figures. Cianci’s unflagging popularity and extraordinary career comebacks have baffled political analysts and frustrated federal investigators. Brilliant and aggressive, charming and ruthless, Cianci is described by supporters and critics alike as a political survivor. From Buddy’s early promise as an attorney prosecuting organized crime to his success overseeing Providence’s “renaissance,” the film Buddy tracks Cianci’s entanglements with city council opposition, union skirmishes, personal scandals, and criminal indictments. The result is a fascinating study of American local politics and a surprising tale of a man who been said to have “a city as his mistress.”

Post-screening discussion with the director led by Douglas Muzzio, Baruch College.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans and the Movies

(2007), 58 min.

Steven Fischler, dir.

Filled with clips from classic films and an all-star list of interviewees, Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans and the Movies takes a comprehensive look at the changing and diverse roles Italian-Americans have played on the silver screen. Selections from early films reveal the images that helped shape negative public opinion, while movies like Scarface, The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Do the Right Thing demonstrate how the violent “wiseguy” image developed and evolved into nuanced portraits seen today. The issue of stereotyping isn’t a facile one. Commercial formulas also serve as wellsprings for creative expression for Italian-American film artists and this documentary offers compelling insights into how Italian-Americans use their art to transcend the stereotypes. Featured in the film are Ben Gazzara, Spike Lee, Isabella Rossellini, Susan Sarandon, Martin Scorsese, Paul Sorvino, Marisa Tomei, John Turturro, and Jack Valenti, among others.

Post-screening discussion with producer Rosanne de Luca Braun led by Anthony Julian Tamburri, Calandra Institute.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Poetry in Action: A Portrait of Vincent Ferrini

(2000), 58 min.

Henry Ferrini, dir.

Poem in Action captures the world of poet Vincent Ferrini and his commitment to the unity of art and life in what he called “the living poem.” The film portrays the forces that shaped this artist’s life: his immigrant parents; factory work; the Great Depression; the Communist Party; and the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts where he lived until his passing in December 2007. The filmmaker and poet’s nephew Henry Ferrini captured the idiosyncrasies of the man and the ever-changing landscape of their town of Gloucester. Vincent’s passion, magnetic presence, and unyielding creativity make for an energizing portrait of an artist and his community, a poet who is also teacher, historian, spokesman, and social activist.

Post-screening discussion with the director led by Fred Gardaphé, Queens

College.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Se la pietra sapesse parlare/If Stone Could Speak

(2007), 67 min.

Randy Croce, dir.

Thousands of stonecutters emigrated from northern Italy to Barre, Vermont, the “Granite Capital of the World.” These scalpellini carved impressive sculptures that still grace public spaces, churches, and cemeteries across America. This documentary follows the artisans and their families from quarries, workshops, and schools in Italy to granite carving sheds in New England. It chronicles the magnificent monuments of these master carvers, as well as their life and death struggle with silicosis. The film portrays the immigrants’ distinctive community in America and their continued ties with their areas of origin, as stonecutter families continue to move between the two countries and seek their own identities, choosing what to keep and what to cut away from their American and Italian legacies.

Post-screening discussion with the director led by visual artist B. Amore.

Monday, February 23, 2009, 6 P.M.
Magic Man,(2007),80 min.
Tammy Leach, dir.

Magic Man traces Paul Malignaggi’s life from his experiences of paternal cruelty and abandonment to his peripatetic childhood in Brooklyn and Sicily. His successful career began at the legendary Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn when he discovered boxing as a young man. The film’s dramatic climax is Malignaggi’s 2006 training for and ultimate defeat in the world championship bout against Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden, and concludes with his successful world welterweight title match against Lovemore N’Dou the following year.  Malignaggi’s loquacity and tenacity make him not an only champion fighter but also a particularly appealing film subject.

Post-screening discussion with the producer Lou DiBella led by Anthony Julian Tamburri, Calandra Institute.

Monday, March 16, 2009, 6 P.M.
Texas Tavola: A Taste of Sicily in the Lone Star State (2007), 34 min.
Circe Sturm and Randolph Lewis, dir.
Sanctuary of Love: The Mission of Salvatore Verdirome (1997), 30 min.
Eric Gearity, dir.

These two films consider contemporary Sicilian-American religious practices and the material culture in Texas and Connecticut, respectively.  Texas Tavola looks at the Italian-American communities of the Lone Star state, with their roots in the Sicilian towns of Poggioreale, Salaparuta, and Corleone. Each March 19th, a single family constructs a temporary domestic altar (tavola) as a votive act in thanks to St. Joseph.  Decorated with hundreds of homemade breads and cakes, the family provides food and tradition to hundreds of guests. Sanctuary of Love: The Mission of Salvatore Verdirome, in turn, chronicles the religious vision of Salvatore Verdirome, a carpenter who landscaped his terraced backyard with scores of bathtub shrines for the Madonna in Norwich. Verdirome’s public expression of religiosity and artistry made this folk environment both a place of solace and a source for debate in a reindustrialized city attempting to remake itself.

Post-screening discussion with the directors led by Kay Turner, Brooklyn Arts Council.

Wednesday, April 15 2009, 6 P.M.
Polizzi Generosa, My Little Brooklyn (2005), 55 min.
Camilla Roos Overbye, dir.

Vincent Schiavelli, the subject of this film, was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn and raised by his grandparents, immigrants from the town of Polizzi Generosa (Palermo province) in Sicily’s Madonie mountains. Schiavelli was an accomplished character actor who starred in such popular films as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)and Ghost (1990). He was also fluent in Sicilian and a published food writer, having inherited his appreciation for Sicilian culture from his grandfather. In 2003, Schiavelli moved to his ancestral town where he died in late 2005. This film documents Schiavelli’s life in Polizzi Generosa, his appreciation of its culinary traditions, and his rapport with its townspeople.
Post-screening discussion with the director led by Teresa Fiore, California State University Long Beach/New York University.

Monday, May 11, 2009, 6 P.M.
Odyssey in Rome (2005), 86 min.
Alex Grazioli, dir

Odyssey in Rome documents director Abel Ferrara’s attempt to finance and produce his film Mary (2005), a modern reimagining of the life of Mary Magdalene starring Juliette Binoche and Forest Whitaker. Ferrara is a controversial and fascinating personality with a reputation for being difficult and for choosing controversial film subjects.  Alex Grazioli follows Ferrara’s grueling journey in Italy to obtain financial backing and retain his cast and crew in a three-year battle of independent filmmaking. Ferrara, displaying his strengths and weaknesses, is seen dealing with the financial, technical, and personal costs of his obsession to complete this film.  NOTE: This film contains repeated use of profanity.

Post-screening discussion with the director led by John Tintori, New York University.