From Our Family to Yours- A short documentary

From Our Family to Yours is a short documentary film about Naples Spaghetti House, a small restaurant in Steubenville, Ohio and their day to day operations. This is a video portrait of the restaurant itself, the people who work there, and, by proxy, the town of Steubenville. The town of Steubenville rests next to the Ohio River, on the border of Ohio and West Virginia and is a part of Appalachia. A post-industrial town consisting of self-made businesses and a strong community. The family who owns the restaurant, the Delatore’s, act as a narrator within the film giving the viewers context of the history and operations of the business. The story of the restaurant is told through the eyes of three different generations of Naples employees and each offers a slightly different perspective on the people, restaurant, and the town itself.
Utilizing the medium of video allows the viewer to pick up on subtleties and the relationships between the characters in the film. The film has a blend of still and handheld shots as well as traditional sit down interviews. This work is inspired by Cinema Verite and specifically the Maysles brothers and their work, such as Grey Gardens.
Through this documentation of Naples restaurant, a small, 100 year old family run business, we view the caring relationships between the family who have worked there for years. This restaurant is not just a place to eat but it has become a microcosm of the hard-working, resilient community and the town itself.


My BFA thesis film, Cleveland Institute of Art 2022