Mister Wonderland.
Opening Night of the live event portion of the NHDocs festival — happening Wednesday, Aug. 19 on Wooster Street at the legendary Sally’s Apizza — will be celebrated with a film that digs into New Haven’s theatrical past.
Mister Wonderland is the story of Silvestro Zefferino Poli, an Italian immigrant who came to the United States in the late 1800s as a wax sculptor and by the 1920s ended up owning and operating around 30 theaters, the first one located in New Haven and one that now operates as the Palace Theater in Waterbury.
The film, directed by Valerio Ciriaci, follows members of Poli’s family in both Italy and Connecticut, piecing together his story via historians and locals familiar with his history as a sculptor and theatrical innovator. On-location, present-day footage is interspersed with stills from the past as well as delightful pieces of animation that help shed light on the man who at one point was the largest individual theater owner in the world.
New Haveners will appreciate Poli’s auspicious beginnings that brought him to the Elm City and led him to opening the Poli Wonderland in 1893 on Church Street, which became the basis of his vaudeville empire. The film also touches upon the Italian immigrant experience at the turn of the last century, the history of the figurinai and the art of sculpting plaster, and how the vaudeville and live theater experience grew and changed as the entertainment industry changed — all with a loving eye on Poli and his family coming together through their common interest in their ancestry and his legacy.
A Q&A with director Ciriaci, moderated by local historian Anthony Riccio (who appears in the film), will follow this screening.
Mister Wonderland will be preceded by a short film by Sophia deBaer titled Guerrilla Bunny, the uplifting story of an artist who hides intricately decorated eggs all around the town of Stockbridge, Mass. each year on the night before Easter for townsfolk to search for and claim as their own the next morning. Described by the artist — who remains anonymous but is referred to as Guerrilla Bunny — as “my weapons as a spiritual warrior,” the eggs are each a unique work of fine art that ultimately become meaningful to the one who finds them, highlighting how one can share hopefulness and grace in a new and unusual way.
Wednesday night also offers more online film showings, including America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill and the Tides That Bind, a film by Joseph Puleo that takes an in-depth nostalgic look at the 52 square blocks of St. Louis known for the Italian-American families who have lived and thrived there from generation to generation since the late 1800s/early 1900s. America’s Last Little Italy follows the neighborhood from its beginnings as a place where Italian immigrants settled to work in the clay mines, to the church-centered community that grew and flourished even through some of the toughest times in U.S. history.
The film is a story of tradition and neighborhood pride focusing on the people who have kept those traditions going. There are even a few famous faces to be seen — including baseball legends Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola, who grew up in The Hill on the same block. And yes, the food of The Hill and its importance as its own tradition beyond its attractiveness to tourists gets its moment to shine. Viewers might want to order some takeout from one of New Haven’s own legendary local restaurants or be left hungry by the end of this testament to community, family, and the ties that bind.
Further details about the NHDocs festival including the full schedule of films and events as well as ticket purchasing information can be found on their website here.