Berks Filmmakers Explore Adoption: Gift and Challenge in New Documentary
From Marabella Enterprises
Marabella Enterprises and Schott Productions are pleased to announce their feature documentary, Il Mio Posto a Tavola (My Place at the Table), has been completed. Produced in collaboration with the Film Commission of Valle d’Aosta and Red Sled Films, the film tells the story of Santo D. Marabella’s adoption from Italy by his American parents, Anna and Sam. But that’s only part of the story. It introduces the audience to the Baby Scoop Era when un-wed mothers were forced to give up their babies at birth, a practice with many similarities to modern-day child trafficking.
Directed by Tracy Schott and executive produced by Santo D. Marabella, the long-time artistic collaborators have been working on the film since December 2024, when Santo approached Tracy with the idea. He wanted to share his adoption story and explore some of the aspects which he didn’t completely understand. “I had been searching for years for a way, the best way, to tell this story,” Marabella noted, “but I couldn’t figure out if it should be a play, book, or a film.”
Then, it hit him. Schott had recently completed the documentary film, From the River, a short film which looks at the history of Reading and Berks County. A documentary film made good sense. Schott and Marabella have collaborated on many theatre and film projects since 2008, including co-founding the ReadingFilmFEST in 2015. With the creative team in place, the research began!
Marabella was adopted during Italy’s Baby Scoop Era, a period during which unwed mothers were coerced or shamed into giving up their babies by the Catholic Church and facilitated by both the Italian and United States governments. This practice was not confined to Italy – Great Britain, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Australia, and others, were plagued by the same practices from 1950s through the 1970s. The film tells Santo’s very personal story of adoption, while also looking at the broader impact of government and church control of family life.
This project would present several challenges, not the least of which was the need to travel four thousand miles to Aosta, Italy, where Marabella was born. The pair assembled an impressive team of film professionals including director of photography, Sebastian Nieves, consulting producer, Tony Gerber, editor, R. Bradley Bass, and composer, Chris Heslop. In addition, they partnered with the Italy-based production company, Red Sled Films, and their principals, Alessia Gasparella and Giorgio Vigna. After months of research and development, the team shot three days in Pennsylvania and seven days in Italy. Post-production was completed in April, and film festival submissions have begun.
Director, Tracy Schott, summed up her thoughts on the film’s contribution to the adoption conversation in this way: “Initially, we thought we were making a short film about Santo’s experience as an Italian-American adoptee. But, as we dug deeper into his story and learned more about the Baby Scoop Era, we realized that Santo’s need to find his ‘place at the table’ was shared by adoptees and their families worldwide. Through Santo’s journey we discover what it means to belong.”
To honor those whose support made this film production possible, a Private Screening, sponsored by Goggleworks Center for the Arts and Lisa Fulmer, is being held in May. Public screenings will be held after distribution planning and film festival submissions are complete sometime later this year.
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