Tag Archives: bocce

Bocce and Burial

I am following up on my previous bocce documentary distribution post. Our film, The World Series of Bocce: A Celebration of Sport, Family and Community, was screened on Saturday, May 18 at Capitol Cinema in Rome as part of a Local Short Film Showcase. My family, co-producer Bill Vinci and editor Mary Kasprzyk attended the event.

From L to R: Francis DiClemente, Bill Vinci and Mary Kasprzyk.

That same day, in the morning, the cremated remains of my father were buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery. My dad had passed away in 2007, but I only found out recently that the plot he had purchased many years ago remained under his name—meaning we could inter his ashes in the cemetery. My sister, Lisa, had kept them with her in Ohio for all these years.

There’s no headstone or grave marker to indicate where Francis Sr. now rests, but it’s a nice spot tucked in a green corner not far from the intersection of Herkimer Avenue and Cayuga Street. I’m sure he’d approve of the location, especially since it’s only a few hundred feet from his parents’ graves.

St. Peter’s Cemetery in Rome, NY.

Under gray skies, Father I. presided over the burial service, sprinkling holy water while small, flying insects buzzed around us, my sister swatting them away.

Father I. said, “We are returning Francis. He stayed with you for a while, and now it’s time for him to rest. We know his spirit is already in heaven.”

Father I. then said the most consoling words I’ve ever heard at a wake, funeral or memorial service: “When you see him again, he will not look old. He will not look young. He will just be. And you will know him, and he will know you.”

And just a final note. The documentary will make its broadcast premiere on WCNY on July 11. But you can watch it for free now through the PBS app.

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Bocce Documentary Distribution

I want to share some distribution details for our indie documentary short, The World Series of Bocce: A Celebration of Sport, Family and Community.

The film will make its theatrical premiere on Saturday, May 18 at Cinema Capitol in Rome as part of a Local Film Shorts Showcase. I’m excited to see the other films on the schedule. The screenings start at 1 p.m.

It’s a fitting location for the documentary’s debut since the subject matter is about Rome. Side note: I saw my first movie at the Capitol when I was kid. I can’t remember which came first—but it was either Mary Poppins or The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.

Another screening will be held at 12 p.m. on Saturday, June 22 at Valley Cinemas in Little Falls.

The film will make its broadcast premiere on WCNY at 10 p.m. on Thursday, July 11. Additional broadcast dates are July 21 and 27. I’m waiting on broadcast dates for WXXI in Rochester. The film has also been accepted for national distribution to PBS stations via NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Association).

And in a case of serendipitous timing, the screening at the Capitol falls on the same day my sister Lisa and I had planned the burial of our father’s cremated remains at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Rome. My dad passed away in 2007, and my sister had his ashes in her possession ever since. I even wrote a short poem about it:

St. Peter’s Cemetery

I extend a hand to touch an angel trapped in marble.
Its face is cool and damp, like the earth beneath the slab.
I pose a question to my deceased father,
Knowing the answer will elude me.
For his remains are not buried in this cemetery,
But instead rest on a shelf in my sister’s suburban Ohio house.

But I found out last year that my father had purchased a plot in St. Peter’s Cemetery and we could bury his remains there. After trying for several months, I was able to schedule the burial on May 18. I heard from the Capitol a week later that the Local Films Shorts Showcase would be held the same day. It was a nice coincidence or what my former boss, Stu Lisson, would call a “God wink.”

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WSB Documentary Teaser

The 48th annual World Series of Bocce kicks off today at the Toccolana Club in my hometown of Rome, New York. In celebration of the opening of the tournament, I want to share a teaser for our indie, work-in-progress documentary that hopefully captures the history, spirit, intense competition, and community impact of the WSB.

My lifelong friend and co-producer Bill Vinci and I had talked for many years about doing a documentary on the WSB. And I’m excited because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as I work with award-winning editor Mary Kasprzyk (my colleague at SU) to complete a project fraught with problems.

A little backstory. As producer/director, I received a Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum production grant in April of 2020. A special “thank you” to the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), the Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA), the Russo Brothers, and AGBO.

However, COVID intervened, and the cancellation of the WSB in 2020 and 2021 prohibited us from capturing on-scene interviews and tournament B-roll footage. Then, after filming was completed at last year’s event, a post-production quagmire threatened to terminate the project. Now the doc is back on track and in the trusted hands of Mary K. We’re hoping to complete a roughly 15 to 20-minute documentary short before the end of the year. The working title is The World Series of Bocce: A Celebration of Sport, Family and Community.

Here are a few “producing” lessons I learned along the way. One: I know cloud storage is more reliable, but I still believe media should be backed up on multiple external hard drives stored in different locations. Transferring all the raw footage shot last summer to a $150 hard drive literally saved this project. Two: In working within tight budget constraints, you must accept your limitations—reconciling the disparity between the film you envision and the film you can actually produce. Three: the most valuable currency in indie film production is the relationships you make with your collaborators. There’s no substitute for working with people you know and trust and who are committed to their craft and the successful outcome of a project.

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