STONEBREAKERS
in production / feature lengthStonebreakers is a documentary about the fight over monuments in the United States. Set during the state of exception of a pandemic in a year marked by historic uprisings for racial and social justice, the film reflects on the power of monumentality and the ways in which the past can inflame present-day political action. By looking at historical landmarks in the process of being defaced, toppled, and at times built anew, Stonebreakers documents an unprecedented collision between history and present. The radical interventions of activists, researchers, and artists are putting into question the hegemonic narratives carved into the stone of the nation’s most famous monuments. As new forms of memorialization come into being, can we seize the opportunity to transcend the mythos of the American Dream and lay the groundwork for true social change?
TEAM
Valerio Ciriaci / Director
Isaak Liptzin / Producer/Cinematographer
Andrea Fumagalli / Editor/Co-Producer
Curtis Caesar John / Co-Producer
Francesco Venturi / Composer
Produced by Awen Films
IF ONLY I WERE THAT WARRIOR
2015 / 72’If Only I Were That Warrior is a feature documentary film focusing on the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1935. Following the recent construction of a monument dedicated to Fascist general Rodolfo Graziani, the film addresses the unpunished war crimes he and others committed in the name of Mussolini’s imperial ambitions. The stories of three characters, filmed in present day Ethiopia, Italy and the United States, take the audience on a journey through the living memories and the tangible remains of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia — a journey that crosses generations and continents to today, where this often overlooked legacy still ties the fates of two nations and their people.
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Italian Golden Globes 2016 / Winner, Best Documentary
Festival dei Popoli / Winner, Best Italian Feature Doc
New Italian Cinema Events / Special Mention
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival / Official Selection
African Diaspora International Film Festival / Official Selection
Addis International Film Festival / Official Selectio
Africa World Film Festival / Official Selection
Italian Film Festival of Minneapolis-St. Paul / Official Selection
CREDITS
Director: Valerio Ciriaci
Producers: Isaak Liptzin, Valerio Ciriaci
Cinematographer: Isaak Liptzin
Editor: Giovanni Pompetti
Original Score: Francesco Venturi
Sound Design: Luigi Porto
Italian Golden Globes 2016 / Winner, Best Documentary
Festival dei Popoli / Winner, Best Italian Feature Doc
New Italian Cinema Events / Special Mention
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival / Official Selection
African Diaspora International Film Festival / Official Selection
Addis International Film Festival / Official Selectio
Africa World Film Festival / Official Selection
Italian Film Festival of Minneapolis-St. Paul / Official Selection
CREDITS
Director: Valerio Ciriaci
Producers: Isaak Liptzin, Valerio Ciriaci
Cinematographer: Isaak Liptzin
Editor: Giovanni Pompetti
Original Score: Francesco Venturi
Sound Design: Luigi Porto
To purchase an educational license and show this film at your school or academic institution, contact us at info@awenfilms.net.
MISTER WONDERLAND
2019 / 53’Mister Wonderland recounts the remarkable story of Sylvester Z. Poli, a humble artisan who emigrated from Italy to America at the end of the 19th century — only to become the greatest theater impresario of his time. The film chronicles his journey from rural Tuscany to the bright lights of the Roaring Twenties, revealing how a migrant’s ingenuity shaped the movie-going experience as we know it. Crossing continents and generations, Mister Wonderland sets out to find what remains today of Sylvester’s theaters and the communities they used to serve.
TRAILER:
To purchase an educational license and show this film at your school or academic institution, contact us at info@awenfilms.net.
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Festival dei Popoli / ‘Il Cinemino’ Award
New Haven Documentary Film Festival / Official Selection
African Diaspora International Film Festival / Official Selection
Addis International Film Festival / Official Selectio
Africa World Film Festival / Official Selection
Italian Film Festival of Minneapolis-St. Paul / Official Selection
CREDITS
Produced by Awen Films
Directed by Valerio Ciriaci
Written by Valerio Ciriaci and Luca Peretti
Cinematographer: Isaak J. Liptzin
Editor: Andrea Fumagalli
Original Score: Francesco Venturi
Animation: Avansguardi
Sound design: Luigi Porto
Executive Producer: Nicola Borrelli
Producers: Isaak Liptzin, Valerio Ciriaci, Luca Peretti,
Maurizio Bernardi, Cristina Gianni
In collaboration with Infinity Blue, Lucca Film Festival e Europa Cinema
With the support of Fondazione Paolo Cresci per la Storia dell’emigrazione e italiana, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca
With the support of Programma Sensi Contemporanei Toscana per il Cinema
Fiscally sponsored by Independent Filmmaker Project (The Gotham)
WITH THE SUPPORT OF:
Italian Cultural Institute, New YorkThe John D. Calandra Italian American Institute (Queens College)
Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò (New York University)
Provincia di Lucca
Comune di Coreglia Antelminelli
Comune di Gallicano
Associazione Lucchesi nel Mondo
IOM ROMÌ (A DAY IN ROME)
2017 / 30’
“Iom Romì” chronicles a day in the life of the contemporary Jewish community of Rome, which for centuries has lived in limbo between persecution and integration. As the only cultural group in the city that can claim an uninterrupted line of descent from the times of the empire, Roman Jews have fostered rituals and traditions that are unique in the world. From dawn to dusk, through the voices of several characters living and working in the historic Ghetto quarter, “Iom Romì” tells the story of a community both fiercely independent and distinctly Roman.
To purchase an educational license and show this film at your school or academic institution, contact us at info@awenfilms.net.
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
New York Jewish Film Festival / Official Selection
Pitigliani Kolno’a Festival / Official Selection
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival / Official Selection
JCC Chicago Film Festival / Official Selection
Nuovo Cinema Israeliano / Official Selection
Joyce Forum Short Film Festival / Official Selection
Vancouver Jewish Film Festival / Official Selection
Boston Jewish Film Festival / Official Selection
Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival / Official Selection
Palm Springs Jewish Film Festival / Official Selection
CREDITS
Produced by Awen Films in collaboration with Centro Primo Levi
Executive Producers: Natalia Indrimi, Alessandro Cassin
Director: Valerio Ciriaci
Cinematographer: Isaak Liptzin
Editor: Giovanni Pompetti
Original Score: Francesco Venturi
Sound Design: Luigi Porto
TREASURE - THE STORY OF MARCUS HOOK
2013 / 20’
Marcus Hook is a small refinery town close to Philadelphia. For decades the oil business was the community’s bread and butter, but in December 2011 when the Sunoco refinery shut down, the town was left on the brink of an unprecedented crisis. Renovating his house, ex-refinery worker Michael Manerchia found the remains of the plankhouse of Blackbeard’s mistress. This unexpected discovery gave Manerchia the inspiration to create a pirate festival in order to bring business back to the town. Treasure chronicles the efforts of a community determined to survive the decline of heavy industry. The town’s future is being written as we speak, but one thing is certain: If Marcus Hook wasn’t born with the refinery, it doesn’t have to die with it either.
To purchase an educational license and show this film at your school or academic institution, contact us at info@awenfilms.net.
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival / Official Selection
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival / Official Selection
Taos Shortz Film Fest / Official Selection
FirstGlance Film Festival / Official Selection
Media Film Festival / Official Selection
InTe Cinema Festival / Official Selection
CREDITS
Produced by Awen Films
Director: Valerio Ciriaci
Producers: Valerio Ciriaci, Isaak Liptzin
Director of Photography: Isaak Liptzin
Assistant Producers: Sharon Brooks, Janna Kyllästinen
Sound Recordist: Janna Kyllästinen
Editor: Valerio Ciriaci
Original Score: Rachel Wardell
Sound Mixing: Casey Skodnek
Color Correction: Giovanni Pompetti
Titles Animator: Michael Bennett
