Bay Ridge filmmaker Tony De Nonno’s latest presentation was 400 years in the making.
The film, “It’s One Family: Knock on Wood,” tells the tale of the Manteo family, who have protected and cherished the long-lost art of marionette making, a Sicilian folk tradition that dates back to the Renaissance.
Mike and Aida Manteo, who lived in Gravesend, are the main focus of the film — but their children and their grandchildren, who continue the family tradition of creating life-size marionettes, get plenty of screen time.
“It speaks about four generations working together to preserve a tradition,” De Nonno (pictured) told GO Brooklyn, “It tells a timeless story about a ritual that dates to the 1600s.”
De Nonno has written and directed over 50 documentary films. He’s ecstatic that the film he created 27 years ago is getting screened on Sunday as part of the Yeshiva University Museum’s Puppet Festival.
“It’s thrilling that it still touches a chord, ” he said.
Tony De Nonno’s film, “It’s One Family: Knock on Wood,” will be shown at noon and 3 pm on Jan. 14 at the Yeshiva University Museum’s International Puppet Festival (15 W. 16th St. between Fifth and Sixth avenues in Manhattan). Free with museum admission: $8 adults, $6 kids and seniors. For more information, call (212) 294-8330 ext. 8819 or visit the Web site www.yumuseum.org.
