Figs For Italo

dir. by Bob Celli, United States
runtime: 19 min
screening: July 7th

FIGS FOR ITALO begins and ends in present day New Jersey at the home of Dora, a widowed grandmother, where her family has gathered for one of her delicious meals. However, the heart of the film takes place in the past as Dora journeys back in her mind to revisit a day that forever changed her and her family. It is autumn, 1943, in Dora’s small hometown in the hills of Italy and WWII is raging all over Europe. She is a young girl and eager to help her older brother, Italo, get ready for his journey to the bigger town nearby for an important school exam. The past is present, the present is past; Dora is for a brief moment in both worlds at the same time. This original screenplay is based on a true story and inspired by events lived by Bob’s mother, Dora Celli.

Cast

DORA (present day) - Elinore Carrabba
DIANE MORRETTI - Valerie Smaldone
MARCO - Santino D' Amico
GABRIELLA - Mara Baldissoni-Aceves
YONG DORA - Francesca Procaccini
ITALO - Claudio Brovedani Nuti
WOMAN ON TRAIN - Teresa Russo
TRAIN CONDUCTOR - Nino Spallacci
YOUNG PEASANT WOMAN - Ariana Iacono
MAN ON TRAIN - Frank Ingrasciotta
GEORGE MILLER - John P. McGill
THE FAMILY
Sal Giordano
Felicia Scarangello
Carlo Iacono
Linda Bloom-Coley
Nicholas Palmieri
Monica DeAntonio
TRAIN PASSENGERS
Shelley Gail Weiss Lightman
Timothy Magidson
Janet Stanwood
Peggy DiPaolo
Andres
Maria Miroulis
Nelson Miranda
Tricia Gimon
William Giaimo
John Porras
Kathi Troy
Randi Senderowitz
GERMAN SOLDIERS
Jason Utnick
Bob Brader
Adam Brick
TRAIN CREW
John J. Stocker
Nick Zisa
Richard Butterworts

Credits

Directors: Bob Celli
Screenwriters: Bob Celli
Producers: Laura Delano, Bob Celli

Mykonos Biennale 2015 - Film Festival - Figs For Italo - screen shot

Screenings

"Winner Award of Excellence " 2015 Best Shorts Competition

Directors Statement

Many of us have grown up hearing stories of our families’ histories. These memories have the power to affect and alter lives. I have heard my family's stories of the time during and after World War II my entire life. It is one of these stories that has inspired me to make this film.

The experience I aspire to communicate with Figs For Italo is that of a journey. Not only a journey from point A to point B, but from past to present. The inspiration came to me after a conversation with a friend. We were discussing the possibility that we as humans have a collective connection; people connect on a sub-atomic level of shared energy. We are all recycled atoms of exploded stars when the universe expanded and formed itself. The more energy/atoms we share, the more we seek out and attempt to reconnect with our universal beginnings.

Sometimes those re-connections can be smooth and effortless; other times they can be turbulent.

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