The Sweet New
Thursday, September 13 at 7:30pm
The third season of Frameline at the Center continues with The Sweet New by local filmmaker Raymond Rea.
The Sweet New is an experimental narrative which originated as a stage play that uses theatrical camp to tell the story of change in three generations of an Italian-American family. In the first generation there is an internment and emigration change. The second generation goes through an assimilation struggle. In the third generation there is a sex change. The film asks questions about identity, specifically: what stays the same when we change everything?
"Fifteen years ago I wrote to my Italian godfather, Salvatore Ducibella, asking him for information on the life of Leo Rea, my grandfather and his best friend. The letter that I received back was seven pages of loving detail on my grandfather’s life. It confirmed what I already knew from my father: that Leo and Duci’s first relationship was not friendship, but a prisoner/guard relationship during the period that my grandfather, Leo, had been interned as an Enemy Alien during World War II.
Ten years ago, as part of a gender transition process I underwent a legal name change. I looked back and noticed that I wasn’t the first generation to fill out name change paperwork. My father also changed his name to a more American version. My grandfather fought to have a social security card after internment during WWII. For at least three generations radical change had been taking place in my family: my grandfather’s emigration and internment, my father’s assimilation, and my transformation."
–– Filmmaker Raymond Rea
The Sweet New is the script that emerged. TSN ran to sold out houses as a stage play in San Francisco in 2004. The film was shot entirely on a soundstage to create a reality that is also trying to be something else.
Kindly arrive early as seating is limited. Don’t miss this FREE screening of this intriguing film and post-screening discussion with the filmmaker!