TELLING LIVES: Portraits of Immigrant Grandmothers (1997)
Genre: Documentary
Release Year: 1997
Duration: 26 minutes
Directed by: Christine Alexiou, Joanna D’Angelo
Synopsis:
Kostantina Alexiou’s daily routing includes cleaning the house, cooking the family’s meals and tending her huge garden. At 75 she is still light on her feet. Concetta D’Angelo at 84 has a pacemaker but still loves to attend dances and take sightseeing trips with her seniors group.
As older immigrants, the grandmothers take part in Canadian culture from a unique standpoint. Telling Lives opens the door on these “invisible immigrants” and reveals their life experiences with images in lush colour, sound and memory. Meme and Nonna speak in their own Macedonian and Italian dialects.
Director Information:
Christine Alexiou
Biography:
Christine Alexiou is a writer and film-maker based in Toronto. She has been producing documentary films with creative partner Joanna D'Angelo since 1994.
Their work reflects their interest in exploring issues around culture, identity and art.
"Telling Lives: Portraits of Immigrant Grandmothers" (1996) and "Hello Dolly?" (1997) were broadcast by the Saskatchewan Communications Network.
In 2007, "Who's Afraid of Happy Endings?", their one-hour documentary (produced in association with GAPC Entertainment) about the world of romance fiction was broadcast on Bravo! Television.