Anthony Joseph De Nonno (born January 12, 1947) is an Italian–American filmmaker, photographer, puppeteer, historian, and speaker in humanities.[1]
Early life
De Nonno was born in Brooklyn, New York to Antoinette (née Carifa) and Jerry De Nonno, two residents of Manhattan's Little Italy neighborhood.[2] His grandparents, Giovanni and Angelina Carifa, owned and operated the Columbia Restaurant on Mulberry Street in Manhattan.[3] His father, Jerry, was a sports columnist and horse racinghandicapper who worked at the New York Post from 1927 to 1977.[4] He wrote a daily column called "De Nonno's Picks," which highlighted racing odds at the Aqueduct and Belmont tracks.[4]
Since 1970, De Nonno has written, produced, and directed over 50 short films and documentaries. While studying at NYIT-Manhattan, De Nonno made his first films: El Fang-Dango, a spoof of Dracula, The Kiss of Death, a gangster-film spoof, and It's All in my Hands, a documentary on local shoemaker John Principe. It's All in my Hands was an end-of-year project that cost him $800 (~$4,800 in 2018). De Nonno recalls in an account on Folkstreams: "...Finnish TV acquired the rights to broadcast It's All in My Hands six times over a 2 year period-and paid me exactly $800."[7]
Subjects of his documentaries have included Itzhak Perlman, Anne Akiko Meyers, and Antonio Meucci, as well as senior citizens, physically challenged persons, and family businesses in New York City. Many of his documentaries have aired on ABC, PBS, Bravo, and New York's WLIW. Meucci, in particular, had resonated with De Nonno in his filming of 1992's Antonio Meucci: Father of the Telephone. He would later advocate House Resolution 269 among the U.S. House of Representatives to honor Meucci, which passed on June 11, 2002.[8]
In a recollection of It's All in my Hands on Folkstreams, De Nonno states his ethos on filmmaking:
"At the heart of what I do as a filmmaker...is to mine the essence and core of the individual(s) I am focusing upon and reveal something about him or her, which touches a chord in all of us. I see myself as a storyteller and I love to shine my filmmaker’s eye on the often unspoken and unrecognized “Salt of the Earth” individuals of this world...I am especially determined to honor the legacy and dignity of Italian Americans as well as the heritage and traditions of culturally-diverse people of our great nation."[7]
From 1981, after filming It's One Family: Knock on Wood, he has offered public performances and workshops with a marionette of a knight based on the epic poem Orlando Furioso.[9] De Nonno is a close friend of the film's subjects: the Manteo family of puppeteers versed in the marionette shows of Catania, Sicily.[10] He has also worked as a Senior Security Officer at The New School in Manhattan.[11]
Reception
Film critic Pauline Kael praised his 1977 documentary, Part of Your Loving, about Italian-born baker Ben Togati: "It's just about impeccable. The camera is always where it should be. The man is treated with affection. And it's very complete. You get a sense of his life."[12]Part of Your Loving was also featured in PBS's The Short List documentary series in 1999.[13]
Author and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at USC Dornsife Richard Fliegel, who associate produced De Nonno's 1980 segment for ABC's20/20 on rock band Fleetwood Mac, commented on De Nonno's 1993 Rebuilding the South Bronx, showing its subjects as "people who lived, believed and came together... to save their neighborhood and rebuild it for the future generations."[12]
CUNYQueens College literary scholar and Italian-American historian Fred Gardaphe praised De Nonno's 2010 Serving Society with Heart: Unico National's 85-Year Contribution to America, saying it "paints an inspiring portrait of UNICO members nation wider and their service and devotion to American society over the last 85 years."[12]
His 2001 Heaven Touches Brooklyn in July, about the Festa de Giglio (Feast of Lilies, which De Nonno has, in his words, "become obsessed" with[14]) celebrating St. Paulinus of Nola in Williamsburg, was sharply criticized by Joseph Sciorra of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute at Queens College. Sciorra called the film "extremely problematic and ultimately dishonest," noting numerous historical inconsistencies, derivation from other documentaries (i.e. Jeff Porter's The Men Who Dance The Giglio), and an "exaggerated, overly sentimental, and clumsy script."[15]
From De Nonno's recollection of It's All in my Hands on Folkstreams:
"Michael Racanelli, director of the Vocational Division of the New York City Department of Education, called it 'An impressive personalized film on working.' Dr. Paul Patane, trustee of the School Art League said 'it awakens young people to the dignity of working with their hands.' Joan Eskenaski of the National Career Counseling and Resource Center cited the film in a review calling it 'A film of feeling and quality...a great vocational guidance film.' Her review inspired librarians across New York State to acquire 16mm prints for their film collection."[7]
^White, Tom (December 1, 1998). "Short Takes, December 1998". International Documentary Association. International Documentary Association. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
