Moveable Feast

1993 • Directed by

Beth Harrington

This documentary follows a group of Italian-Americans from Boston's North End to their ancestral hometown, Sciacca, Sicily, to participate in the Feast of the Madonna del Soccorso (also known and celebrated in Boston as the Fisherman's Feast). The video examines issues of ethnicity, work, family, religion, and remembrance with affection and good humor. It contrasts the relatively small religious and cultural festival in Boston with the larger, older, more established ritual in Sicily, where statues of the Madonna are carried through the streets in devotion to the saint and as a way of honoring deceased family members.