Page 3 - Italian American Herald - March 2022

ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
LOCAL
Brothers go looking for all the Italies in America
Delaware natives document their quest in film ‘BIG CITY, Little Italy’
MARCH2022 | ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM 3
Vol. 9 No. 3 – March 2022
A MONTHLY NEWSPAPER SERVING THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY
A DIVISION OF TODAY MEDIA Editor & Publisher
Robert F. Martinelli
Art Director
Rosalinda Rocco
This issue’s contributors
Melissa Cannavo-Marino Frank Cipparone Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo Ken Mammarella Charlie Sacchetti Robert Damien Santagata Murray Schulman
Senior correspondent
Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
Managing Editor
Al Kemp
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Charles W. Tomlinson Jr.
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Tanya Tecce
Audience Development Director
David Bergeman
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Donna Hill
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Eric Bolis Chris Johnson Shelby Mills
Ciao Bella Living Italian Style
Barbara Ann Zippi
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Joseph T. Cannavo
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In Memoriam
Chairman Angelo R. Martinelli (1927-2018) Vice President Ralph Martinelli (1962-2019)
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The Santoro brothers’ crew films a segment in Gaurino’s, a landmark Italian restaurant in Cleveland.
Contents
Achiever ......................................... 4 Exploring Paradise.......................... 6 From Our Readers .......................... 7 Vini D’Italia ....................................10 Pagina Italiana...............................11 The Chef’s Perspective ..................14 Per I Bambini .................................15 It’s All Good ...................................16 News From Italy/Local ...................17 Language ......................................18
By Ken Mammarella
A new travelogue on Little Italies across America uses commedia dell’arte zaniness, three iPhones and lots of cannoli to tell the story of two brothers – both artistic and nostalgic Delaware natives – searching the U.S. for Italian culture, people and, of course, food. Spoiler alert: they succeed.
“It reconnected me, for sure, with the memories of being with our extended family and experiences like going to St. Anthony’s Italian Festival,” said Nick Santoro, an actor, juggler and film crew member now based in Los Angeles (and sometimes New York).
“We made lots of friends/family along the way and found great value in exploring some of the smaller, lesser-known Little Italies,” said Jeff Santoro, a Wilmington resident, owner of J Alexander Productions and participant, on stage and off, in local
theater. (He also has a full-time job as senior director of hospital and payer partnerships for the Nemours Center for Health Delivery Innovation.)
A first cut of “BIG CITY, Little Italy” has been posted online. A longer and more sophisticated version is expected to premiere in Delaware this year, Jeff said.
There might be even more to the project: PBS stations have asked to broadcast segments that showcase their cities, Jeff said, and more of America’s 100-plus Little Italies have asked that their stories be told. The brothers have also been urged to create a companion book.
And there’s certainly more to the Santoros. They both gained weight from all the cannoli and other desserts. “Twenty pounds,” Jeff said.
“At least 15 to 20,” said Nick. “When you get there, they offer you food. The table’s
totally ready. Then they send you off with food. We got that everywhere we went. We immediately felt like family.”
Their cross-country journey started in early 2021 when they heard about an effort by the National Italian American Foundation and Anthony and Joe Russo, the brothers who have directed four films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to partly fund Italian- related movies.
They were among 200 pitching ideas, then one of eight awarded grants by
the Russos, the Russos’ film company,
the foundation and the Italian Sons and Daughters of America. After six weeks of prep, six weeks of travel and six weeks post-production in a bungalow at Fox Studios in Los Angeles, their film was one of three finalists screened in November at the Russo Brothers Italian Film Forum.
“The grants we have received have been small,” Jeff said. “Making a film is expensive.” They’ve spent $65,000 and are setting a $30,000 goal on their project’s GoFundMe page, for graphics, sound sweetening and the costs of appearing in festivals, among other expenses.
They filmed in Wilmington, Philadelphia, the Bronx, Cleveland, Providence, San Diego and San Francisco. The second cut adds Chicago. The film was intended to feature histories and interviews about what makes these Little Italies thrive, “but then we stuck ourselves into it,” Jeff said in a Film Forum Q&A posted on YouTube, “and it kind of became commedia dell’arte.”
continued on page 5
The crew films a scene with television chef Mary Ann Esposito in Providence, R.I.