Now screening in Australian cinemas, it is fresh from a successful season in New Zealand, where it made the top 10 at the box office.
Funded by the Canadian government, the Basilicata Region and the Lucana Film Commission, the film is based on the autobiographical novel Finding Marco, by Kenneth Canio Cancellara.
A successful lawyer and businessman, Cancellara migrated to Canada from Acerenza as a child.
Throughout his life, Cancellara always struggled to suppress the yearning for his childhood home and the ancient traditions handed down by his grandfather in the vineyards of Aglianico del Vulture.
Directed by Sean Cisterna, the film features a stellar cast, including Italian and international names, such as Marco Leonardi (Cinema Paradiso) and Canadian actors Wendy Crewson and Paula Brancati.
The protagonist’s troubled story of returning to his roots is played by Joe Pantoliano, known for his roles in films such as Risky Business, Memento and The Matrix, as well as playing Ralph Cifaretto in the TV series The Sopranos, which earned him an Emmy Award.
“My grandparents were originally from Avellino, which is less than an hour from Acerenza,” Pantoliano said.
“It was also very poignant for me to return to the places where my ancestors left in search of a better life.
“My parents were both born in the United States, but they spoke Italian well: they used it against us children to hide the subject of their conversations or their arguments.”
Growing up in Hoboken, New Jersey, Pantoliano was inspired to follow in the footsteps of fellow Italo-Americans, like Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Roselli.
“There was the dream of being immortal,” he said.
“I thought that if I appeared on my mum’s black and white television, long after I was gone there would be evidence that I existed.
“My father would have preferred that I became a firefighter.”
Then in the early 1970s, when Pantoliano was embarking on his acting career, The Godfather hit screens.
“It was an overwhelming success and a pivotal moment for Italo-Americans, who finally saw themselves represented on the big screen through Al Pacino and Robert Di Nero,” Pantoliano said.
“It was a big deal after a long period in which typical Anglo-Saxon actors – blondes with blue eyes, like Paul Newman and Robert Redford – dominated.
“On the other hand, we’re a nation of immigrants and this is reflected in the cinema.
“At its dawn, a hundred years ago, the stars of the silent cinema were the Barrymores, descendants of the first British settlers, then the Irish arrived, with James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Spencer Tracy, then the Italians like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and the Jews with Paul Muni, and now it’s the Latin Americans’ turn.
“When I started I was considered too ethnic, now I’m not ethnic enough!”
To get into the lead role of Marco, who is caught in a moment of internal crisis despite his apparent successes from the outside, Pantoliano drew on his personal experience of dissatisfaction in the pursuit of happiness.
“Marco was so busy trying to succeed that he didn’t even know that he was becoming distant with his wife; in trying to go back to his roots, they fall in love with each other again,” he said.
“I thought if I realised my career dreams in film it would solve my self-esteem problems, but it didn’t.
“I had such a low opinion of myself that I felt contempt even for the people who loved me.”
Having played roles in many dark and violent films, Pantoliano was eager to act in a small production that sends audiences a strong message of hope.
“I want to play characters that my children and grandchildren can feel proud of,” he concluded.
“Now more than ever, people need films like these and not dystopian films, which have unfortunately become reality.”
