Know Your Neighbor: Meet Filmmaker Alessio Cappelletti

While most 12-year-olds were home watching The O.C., Bristol native Alessio Cappelletti was watching Goodfellas and Apocalypse Now under the artful tutelage of his father. One might think that the war and gangster violence of such films might have an adverse effect on a young mind, but for Cappelletti it was quite the opposite. He not only developed a love for film that would eventually lead to his status as resident director of a New York City entertainment company, but it also helped him come to terms with the violence and tragedy that has been steadily increasing amongst suburban teens.

“Inner city or not, there’s a troubling amount of teen violence occurring in small towns all over the country,” Cappelletti says. “Violence and drugs aren’t just city problems anymore. It’s becoming more prevalent in the suburbs and nobody wants to talk about it.”

Cappelletti does more than just talk about it. He’s making films about it and he’s got firsthand material with which to work. Cappelletti was bullied as a young kid and then did some bullying of his own as a teen. He credits a high school arts program at La Salle for transforming his youthful energy into artistic expression. He would perform at poetry slams at both La Salle and AS220. After high school, he attended New York City’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts for a year where he studied acting. He also took an interest in photography. The son of a Providence College Italian professor, Cappelletti was also passionate about literature. Upon entering Brooklyn College to study film, he combined all of these disciplines with the intent of becoming a director.

He eventually left Brooklyn College in part due to a dispute with an instructor who insisted that Cappelletti’s final project was too difficult logistically to complete. The instructor was aggressively adamant about it, but Cappelletti proved him wrong by coming home to Rhode Island and producing it. His 34 minute film, Broken Crayons, was filmed at an old Tiverton plantation house. He cast child actors, some with little to no experience. Cappelletti gave them a three-month crash course and it paid off. The children shocked Cappelletti with their bravery. The film won an honorable mention at the L.A. Movie Awards, which helped him earn the attention of Squid and the Whale producer Andrew Lauren who has now written a letter of endorsement and support in getting Cappelletti’s next film made, Dreams of the Youth.

Cappelletti has spent the past seven years in New York City working in the film industry. He and some friends, Christian De Gré and actress Ashley C. Williams, started their own arts and entertainment company, Mind the Art Entertainment. It started off with only six of them, but the company has now worked with well over five-hundred actors and has numerous international affiliates. Cappelletti has also directed a play at the East Village’s La MaMa Theatre Club, which is quite the accomplishment for anyone, let alone 25-year-old.

While Cappelletti loves the experience and energy of working in New York, he prefers Rhode Island. He finds its diverse terrain inspiring. He’ll spend an afternoon in Little Compton immersing himself in nature and then enjoy a night in Providence listening to live music or taking part in some other cultural offering. Splitting his time between Bristol and Brooklyn, he’d even go so far as to say Rhode Island has if not a rich history then one that is more malleable than the constant state of flux and movement that is New York City.

“Rhode Island has an energy that New York doesn’t have,” Cappelletti says. “It’s so transient and fast. Everything is swept through. It’s like a lobby, people coming and going. It’s hard to get a sense of place or history, at least not like here in Rhode Island.”

Cappelletti’s films are certainly inspired by both the rich beauty of the state and its darker undercurrents.

“As beautiful as Rhode Island is it also has its problems, especially with violence,” he says.

From boxing legends to folkloric mafia figures, Rhode Island certainly has an aura of gritty toughness, but that isn’t necessarily the kind of violence that has inspired Cappelletti’s films. He’s more interested in the wider, more systemic aspects of violence that affect our culture, the kind occurring in suburban schools and teenage house parties, the kind he witnessed growing up in both Bristol and Johnston. Cappelletti rejects the idea that boredom alone inspires young people to commit violent acts. It’s a symptom of our society as a whole. Politics and religion have a hand in our collective temperament. Cappelletti explores such ideas in his films.

"We have to understand why we're having these problems in Rhode Island in order to fix them. There's a growing distinction between rich and poor.  We have a large amount of homeless people. Kids are driving wasted and dying. We need to fix it, but we have to take an honest look at ourselves."

His dream is to develop the kind of youth programs that turned him onto art and literature at La Salle, a place where kids can express their emotions and fears artistically. Then Rhode Island would be known for its artists along with its godfathers and lightweight boxing champs.