My name is Michael Cavalieri, I'm an Actor/Writer/Director originally from New York. 

My Directorial Debut “RITORNATO ” https://ritornatothemovie.com/ (which I also star in) was awarded a special grant by the Russo Brothers, the Directors of Avengers: Endgame (the highest grossing film of all time), the National Italian American Foundation and the Italian Sons and Daughters of America. Based on a true story about finding my roots, "Ritornato" was shot entirely on location in Limina, Sicily, the hometown of my Grandfather Agatino Alibrandi.  "Ritornato" went on to win many film festivals worldwide and was one of the only American films selected for the prestigious Taormina Film Festival in 2020.I recently returned from premiering the film in Piazza Armerina, Sicily to the families of the carusi and some of the surviving men that worked in the sulfur mines. During that same period, I'm proud to say we showed "La Porta Dell'Inferno" to over 1000 children as a history lesson for the schools and after by bus, I accompanied them to the Floristella mine so they could see firsthand how these men and boys worked in terrible conditions and toiled in the deep bowels of the sulfur mines. It was an incredibly moving experience to see the look in the children's eyes when they learned this history for the first time.Here is the trailer, this will give you a good sense of the film.https://vimeo.com/790587140password: Carusisicily

MY LATEST DOCUMENTARY FILM:"LA PORTA DELL'INFERNO" is a homage to the young men and boys "carusi" who worked in slave-like conditions in the deep bowels of the sulfur mines in central Sicily.  It's not a story often told, but it's one the whole world should know about. It was truly an honor and privilege to stand with "Living history." I consider these men and boys "MARVEL SUPERHEROES".  I did this film with my own money as a passion project to honor the men of the sulfur mines and our Italian culture.Below is some press, reviews and what people have been saying about my documentary "LA PORTA DELL'INFERNO" during our eight city tour around Sicily this summer.In May we are premiering at Loyola University in Chicago at Casa Italia. Then we will bring the film to the Calandra Institute in New York followed by the Columbus Citizens Foundation. In the fall, I was invited to bring the film to the Italian Culture Institute of Buffalo and to the North Park Theatre for a small limited run.  Followed by the University of Rochester and the Sicilian Canta/Italian Cultural Institute in Hamilton, Canada.

SYNOPSIS: "La Porta Dell'Inferno" (The Door to Hell) is a true story of courage, sacrifice and the love of family. This documentary chronicles the inspirational stories of some of the last surviving men who worked in the sulfur mines in central Sicily.  These Marvel superheroes, as I call them, give us a deep insight into the slave-like conditions they were forced to work under by private ownership for many years up until 1963. Their courage, will and determination is the centerpiece of this film as they discuss their families and relentless pursuit to keep them together. There was only one choice they could make if they wanted to keep their families together, it was immigration or the sulfur mines... They all chose the sulfur mines.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: "Cavalieri takes us to the discovery, going in search of it himself, of an important piece of the social, human and economic history of our Sicily, which lasted over a century and which had as its backdrop the over 400 sulfur mines, located above all in the central part of the island, which at the time represented one of the most important economic activities and owned by the richest Sicilian bourgeois families."

"The Sicilian-American director reconstructs all this with loving passion, also using photos and images of that time, but above all by going with his camera directly to the places where the skeletons of those mines, real industrial complexes, still exist as ruins. of buildings and large machinery rusty by time that rise from the depths of the earth towards the sky, and then collecting the direct testimonies of some elderly former miners and their families, in a setting of poignant beauty such as that of landscapes and countries within Sicily."

"The leitmotif of the story that Cavalieri uses is not only the reconstruction of life and death in those mines, but also the constant emphasis he makes of the indomitable courage of those "carusi" and those miners, which he defines as his superheroes , and of the fundamental value that was at the basis of this very hard work and of the choice, once adults, not to emigrate: the family, and with the love for it the very strong determination to do everything necessary to bring home that miserable salary that was however indispensable for the economic sustenance of his family."

"It was truly an indescribable emotion."

"Seeing his work presented this evening in Centuripe, I don't know if we were more moved by the autobiographical stories of the miners or by the refined sensitivity with which Michael loved, described, and eternalized the tears and sighs of this humanity."

"A very moving story, it gave me chills. Let's hope this never happens again."

"After viewing your Documentary on the sulfur mines I was, unfortunately, too emotional to speak during the Q & A. Beautifully done and executed."

"Beautiful movie! Thank you for honoring our ancestors!"

"It's an excellent and important film."

"Today after watching American director Michael Cavalieri's documentary "Gate to Hell" and the testimonies of the "carusi" I am even more proud of my father. Great man, great worker, I owe you what I am today. To your sweat, toil. Honour to you daddy."

"A true masterpiece."" The Door to Hell is beautiful, exciting and above all good. Michael speaks from the heart. A poignant story that risked falling into oblivion, I had heard about the story and read something about it but tonight I was stunned by what was happening to the CARUSI. Good, good Michael, you did a job which will remain in the annals of history."

"The film was beyond extraordinary. It is so much more than an explanation of just one part of Sicilian history. It is a tribute to and an elevation of the working man to the status so richly deserved. It is a moving testament to those brave people who worked for family, sacrificing themselves at every turn and by doing so, inspiring their families to live a better life.  A MUST SEE movie for anyone who loves Sicilia, humanity and a better future."