Material Bruto
Summer was born and raised in New York City into a working class Italian-American, Catholic family. Her family insists on calling her by her birth name, Anthony, though she gave up this name long ago.…
Material Bruto
Summer was born and raised in New York City into a working class Italian-American, Catholic family. Her family insists on calling her by her birth name, Anthony, though she gave up this name long ago. Her grandmother, Nonna, emigrated to Brooklyn from a small town in southern Italy. As a child, Summer heard Nonna speak of a festival called the Candelora, a celebration of local dance and prayer. However, all Summer ever saw of her Italian traditions was the Catholic church that made her feel invisible and unwelcome. As Nonna's dementia worsens, and her memories of the past fade away, Summer embarks on a journey with a filmmaker named Adam in tow. She decides to travel back to Napoli for the Candelora, in search of a deeper connection to her heritage. When she arrives, Summer has a chance encounter on the cobblestone streets with a street musician who calls her a "Femminiello." She begins to research the word and discovers that the Femminielli are people like her, born male with the souls of women, deeply rooted in the local culture. She meets local musicians and learns the tammurriata, the dance of the Femminielli- a dance of the harvest, fertility and partnership. She goes to her Zia Gerarda, Nonna's sister, in their hometown and learns that the Candelora's slogan is "State Dinto, Virna Fora," "Summer Within, Winter Be gone," giving her chosen name a new meaning. She seeks out the Femminielli and meets a trans activist Loredana, who tells a sobering story of the contemporary Femminielli, forced into sex work, deprived of other opportunities and love. Summer feels the sad familiarity of this story, from often being objectified and not seen as she is. She finds a Femminiello elder named CiroCiretta, a person with an identity close to Summer's and with a deep knowledge of the pre-Christian roots of the Femminielli. Summer learns from CiroCiretta that to be a Femminiello is to be a central part of the community, but also to always carry a small ache in the realm of love. Summer finally climbs the mountain to the Candelora with the Femminielli, peering down at Nonna's town in the distance from the windows of the bus. Upon arrival, Summer meets the Mamma Schiavona, the Black Madonna that is the patron of the Femminielli. She dances the tammurriata with her new community, and prays for guidance, while CiroCiretta assures her that love and acceptance can only come from within. Filled with raw tenderness from these epic heart opening experiences, Summer returns home to Nonna's final days. She says goodbye to her grandmother with a newfound sense of connection to her past, carrying her ancestral rituals and sense of belonging into the world.
Material Bruto
Documentary
Film Details
Summer was born and raised in New York City into a working class Italian-American, Catholic family. Her family insists on calling her by her birth name, Anthony, though she gave up this name long ago. Her grandmother, Nonna, emigrated to Brooklyn from a small town in southern Italy.
As a child, Summer heard Nonna speak of a festival called the Candelora, a celebration of local dance and prayer. However, all Summer ever saw of her Italian traditions was the Catholic church that made her feel invisible and unwelcome. As Nonna's dementia worsens, and her memories of the past fade away, Summer embarks on a journey with a filmmaker named Adam in tow.
She decides to travel back to Napoli for the Candelora, in search of a deeper connection to her heritage. When she arrives, Summer has a chance encounter on the cobblestone streets with a street musician who calls her a "Femminiello." She begins to research the word and discovers that the Femminielli are people like her, born male with the souls of women, deeply rooted in the local culture. She meets local musicians and learns the tammurriata, the dance of the Femminielli- a dance of the harvest, fertility and partnership.
She goes to her Zia Gerarda, Nonna's sister, in their hometown and learns that the Candelora's slogan is "State Dinto, Virna Fora," "Summer Within, Winter Be gone," giving her chosen name a new meaning. She seeks out the Femminielli and meets a trans activist Loredana, who tells a sobering story of the contemporary Femminielli, forced into sex work, deprived of other opportunities and love. Summer feels the sad familiarity of this story, from often being objectified and not seen as she is.
She finds a Femminiello elder named CiroCiretta, a person with an identity close to Summer's and with a deep knowledge of the pre-Christian roots of the Femminielli. Summer learns from CiroCiretta that to be a Femminiello is to be a central part of the community, but also to always carry a small ache in the realm of love. Summer finally climbs the mountain to the Candelora with the Femminielli, peering down at Nonna's town in the distance from the windows of the bus.
Upon arrival, Summer meets the Mamma Schiavona, the Black Madonna that is the patron of the Femminielli. She dances the tammurriata with her new community, and prays for guidance, while CiroCiretta assures her that love and acceptance can only come from within. Filled with raw tenderness from these epic heart opening experiences, Summer returns home to Nonna's final days.
She says goodbye to her grandmother with a newfound sense of connection to her past, carrying her ancestral rituals and sense of belonging into the world..