‘Stonebreakers’ documentary is screening as part of RoxFilm

Italian documentarian Valerio Ciriaci set sail to profile Christopher Columbus but wound up at the landing of the Mayflower. He didn’t get lost. Instead, he found inspiration for exploring Thanksgiving mythology in relation to the racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. 

Plymouth, the birthplace of Thanksgiving, is featured in the final frames of “Stonebreakers,” a 70-minute look into the fight over removing monuments and confronting dark chapters in U.S. history. Ciriaci juxtaposes the traditional Pilgrim story with footage of the National Day of Mourning, a gathering held every Thanksgiving on Cole’s Hill to honor indigenous ancestors and the struggles that Native people face today. 

A scene from “Stonebreakers.” (Awen Films)

The documentary had its U.S. premiere in April at Independent Film Festival Boston. This week, it is back on the local festival circuit as part of the Roxbury International Film Festival. It can be streamed at RoxFilm@Home through July 2. 

Ciriaci zeroes in on the Black Lives Matter protests taking place amid the 2020 presidential election, chronicling the fight against “fake Americana” narratives that exclude Blacks and Native Americans. In an effort to broaden historical perspectives, Ciriaci travels to New York City, where a 76-foot-tall statue of Columbus is covered in graffiti as demonstrators chant “Take it down.” Other stops include Mount Rushmore, the Mexican border in Arizona, the Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson memorials in Richmond, Virginia, the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial in South Dakota and the African American Burial Ground in Virginia. 

A scene from Plymouth’s Thanksgiving parade in “Stonebreakers.” (Awen Films)

The documentary brings attention to an issue that remains a political and social hot-button topic.  Earlier this month, Boston was one of nine cities to receive a $3 million grant from the Mellon Foundation’s “Monuments Project,” which aims to “reimagine and rebuild commemorative spaces and transform the way history is told in the United States.”

“Stonebreakers” is part of RoxFilm@Home virtual screenings and can be streamed through July 2.