Italian-American tradition, Marion County come to the silver screen

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A film on an Italian-American Christmas tradition also serves as a reflection of the upbringing of director Robert Tinnell and his family’s roots in West Virginia.

“Feast of the Seven Fishes” opened last Friday in select theaters in the United States and England as well as iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play and Vudu. The film’s premiered Nov. 1 in Fairmont.

Tinnell, a Fairmont native, said on a recent episode of MetroNews “Talkline” the film explores various aspects, including family, growing up in Marion County and living in the 1980s.

“I was sort of bulletproof from cliche because no one had really done Seven Fishes in a movie, so I had some new territory there,” he said. “We have such a distinct culture, both Italian-American as well as traditional West Virginia culture. It’s different from New Jersey and what we are typically force-fed. I was able by being sort of true to exactly how I remembered life back that.”

The film’s title comes from an Italian-American celebration held on Christmas Eve involving a diversity of fish dishes.

Tinnell’s family has Italian heritage, which he used as inspiration for the film’s characters.

“They are very much my grandfathers and my great uncles and my great-grandmother,” he said. “There’s a lot of it. It’s very true.”

Parts of the film even take place at places familiar to Tinnell; shooting locations include his grandparents’ house as well as spots in Fairmont and Rivesville.

Tinnell said people have been able to relate to his own experiences.

“I’ve been sort of shocked at how much audiences laugh. It’s funnier than what I thought it was going to be,” he said.

“I was surprised by how many people cry as well as laugh. That keeps getting me.”

Skyler Gisondo, Madison Iseman and Josh Helman star in the film.





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