I first met Val Franco a couple of years ago as she was shooting her
first movie, Remembering Mario. I was impressed immediately by her
energy and enthusiasm for this project. Remembering
Mario is a labor of love --love for the Italian and Italian-American
cultures and more importantly, it is a record of a personal journey of
discovery--ours and Val's.
While this is her first effort, Val has started on the road to capturing
many delightful moments which make sense if you are Italian-American or
not. Each one of us has probably had a journey of self-discovery
in our lives--the kind of journey where we discover a truth or finally
give in to the
truth within ourselves. Val (in one of the lead roles) takes
such a journey herself and we have the good fortune to be included in this
mix serious and genuinely funny moments.
As Val's father (Dom DeLuise lends his voice to the role) is dying of
Alzheimer's, we see both Val's denial of her Italian-American heritage
and her eventual embracing of it (along with a good cup of espresso) with
enthusiasm and wonder. Along the way we meet her friends, share in
some
good advice and experience a few Monty Python like moments of humor.
To say more would be to give away what makes the journey so entertaining.
At the present time, the movie awaits the final editing and work necessary
to submit it at various film festivals. You can find out more about
the movie and the current schedule at Val's website for the movie.
We have a link set up for you to use. Please visit the site and support
Val's effort.
Your help with the final funding push would be greatly appreciated.
Val deserves our support--not only because she has made a movie without
all the negative Italian-American stereotypes but because Val has put her
positive energy to good use and has earned the recognition of everyone
who has
ever rediscovered what it means to have such a marvelous cultural heritage.
Each one of us will find a part of our own journey in this movie.