Nine Good Teeth

The Movie, by Alex Halpern

Mary on the Associated Press newswire January 29, 2002

The sin which is half hidden is half forgiven, Mary quotes an old Sicilian saying.

Director Alex Halpern’s first feature-length documentary, Nine Good
Teeth, unfolds through the stories and recollections of his grandmother
Mary Mirabito, an outspoken and fiercely independent 103-year-old woman (now 106).
In an intimate, revealing, and often hilarious portrait, Mary dispenses
home-spun wisdom while divulging family secrets and rivalries, confronts
her own mortality with courage and candor and continues to remain the
rock on which the rest of her family relies.

Most families have secrets - mysteries and mythologies, shared behind
closed doors and passed down from generation to generation. Nine Good
Teeth looks deeply and passionately into one woman’s life, presenting a
fascinating insight into the dynamics of a family, and of the human
condition.

Told from occasionally conflicting points of view, the film traces the
journey of Mary’s family from the volcanic island of Stromboli, off the
coast of Sicily - to 19th century Brooklyn, through post-World War II
Europe, to modern-day New York. Interwoven with an extensive collection
of photographs, letters, journals, and home movie footage, this engaging
tale reveals many of the common truths hidden away in all our families,
as well as the unexpected - late night visits from Jack Kerouac, illicit
love affairs and the occasional murder.

For more information regarding the feature-length documentary NINE GOOD
TEETH, coming soon to a small or big screen near you, starring "Nana"
Mary Mirabito Livornese Cavaliere, please contact:

Pickled Punk Pictures
Alex Halpern/Madeleine Leskin
161 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10013
tel. 212.627.1662
fax. 212.627.1684
www.ninegoodteeth.com

HOME