Background

Logline

Rescued as a baby from an orphanage and adopted by his Italian-American parents, a filmmaker returns to Aosta, Italy, a lifetime later to reconcile the feelings that have stopped him from finding his seat at the table. 

Synopsis

Il Mio Posto a Tavola (My Place at the Table) is a short, documentary film which examines the universal need to belong. The bulk of the film takes place around the dinner table where all of life’s important moments happen, for Italians in both Italy and the United States.  It is seen through the heart of the filmmaker, who was born in a Catholic orphanage in Aosta, Italy, and adopted by Italian-American parents two weeks before his first birthday and became their only child. Though he was treasured by his adoptive parents, he was bullied by his peers and struggled from an early age to fit in and connect with others. Growing up, the realization that he was gay further deepened this isolation, straining his relationship with the Church to which he was so dedicated and the parents he so loved. Though stoked by self-doubt and fear, he refused to be stopped. He tried harder and achieved more, carving out a life as a caregiver, educator, writer and artist. Returning to his birthplace, he seeks to find his place at the table.

Why It Matters

A Critical Problem

According to the US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the United States is experiencing what he considers to be an epidemic of loneliness.  In his advisory, Dr. Murthy warns that loneliness is “associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.”  He talks of the far reaching adverse effects of loneliness that impacts many aspects of society – at work, school and in the community.  

In the extreme, we know that loneliness can lead to such isolation and despair that suicide becomes the only solution – a solution that a growing number of people are choosing, as a recent study by Colorado University Boulder reports.

Addressing the Problem

We see a cause of loneliness coming from a pervasive feeling of not belonging, not feeling a part of something beyond ourselves – whether that is a family, a community or society in general. For whatever reason a person feels separate, they become by choice or circumstance, more isolated. With isolation that is not addressed through interventions such as talk therapy, self-help or group support, that isolation becomes loneliness. It is in that place where desperation and lack of hope can bring people to consider self-harm or suicide, with many succeeding as we have seen from the data presented above.

We are going to produce and distribute a documentary film that looks at the social challenges adoptive children experience. We will explore the abandonment and isolation that can result from even the best adoptions. We understand the incredible complexity and vastness of this social condition, and we have no delusions that our film can solve it. We do believe, because we have experienced from our past projects, that film and documentary film, specifically, can tell a story that raises awareness about mental health and de-stigmatizes getting help in ways that engage without judgement or shame.

Our story will be a first-person documentary that presents the adoption and the family dynamics that accompany it, along with the personal struggles of an adult who believes his adoption was a tremendous gift, yet also his greatest hurdle to finding personal contentment.

Santo D. Marabella will tell his story, and as we travel to Italy, his American and Italian families will connect the first time, around the Italian table. The journey is Santo’s way of finding his seat at the table, a place that for most of his adult life has been elusive