Watch the documentary film.
An experimental journey through the mind of sound wizard and poet, Alex Caldiero.
ʻThe Sonosopherʼ is an experiential voyage into the peculiar life and art of Alex Caldiero. Tracing his birth and childhood in rural Sicily as well as his coming of age as a poet in New York City, Caldiero is found living in conservative Utah years after his conversion and separation from Mormonism. The film explores Caldieroʼs lifelong artistic investigation into ʻSonosophy,ʼ a unique hybrid of sound, poetry, and philosophy. Borrowing techniques from such diverse genres as avant-garde film and cinéma vérité, ʻThe Sonosopherʼ portrays Caldieroʼs life and work at its most traditional and most bizarre. Utilizing these diverse methods, the filmmakers artfully blend current performance and interview footage, 8MM family videos, and archival material to tell the intimate story of this largely unknown artist.
Torben Bernhard (director) is the editor of the documentaries I WANT MY MTV (Tribeca 2019, A&E), CHURCH & STATE (Special Jury Award, AmDocs, 2018), and the upcoming GOOD FIRE. He served as Director of Photography for QUIET HEROES (Sundance, 2018). He has directed several award-winning short documentaries, including TRANSMORMON and OXYGEN TO FLY, both of which enjoyed viral success and garnered millions of views. He co-directed the feature film THE SONOSOPHER: ALEX CALDIERO IN LIFE…IN SOUND (Cinequest, 2010). He won the Utah Short Film of the Year award over three consecutive festivals, won the 2017 Golden Spike Award for External Video Marketing, was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick, and has received Artistic Vision awards from multiple film festivals. His work has been featured by The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, The Guardian, and many more outlets throughout the world.
Travis Low (director) is an audio and video documentary artist based in Salt Lake City, Utah. His films directed include THE SONOSOPHER: ALEX CALDIERO IN LIFE...IN SOUND, BOOMTOWN, and THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO RALPHAEL which was selected as Editor's Pick by The Atlantic. He has served as a sound designer and editor on several other films including TRANSMORMON, CHURCH & STATE, and SAME-SEX ATTRACTED. His work has received awards at film festivals across the country, and has been featured by publications such as National Geographic and The New York Times, among others. Travis is also active in the collection and archival side of documentary work. In non-pandemic times he can often be found haunting the stacks and corners of various bookstores and libraries.
Alex Caldiero, the subject of this documentary, was born in 1949 in the ancient town of Licodia Eubea, Sicily. He immigrated to the U.S. at age nine and was raised in Manhattan, New York. He attended Queens College and was apprenticed to the sculptor Michael Lekakis and the poet-bard Ignazio Buttita. He is co founder of Arba Sicula, the society for the preservation of the Sicilian language and traditions, and is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Utah Performing Arts Tour, and from the Associations for Mormon Letters. Caldiero has lived in Utah since 1980 with his wife and children. He is currently the Artist in Residence at Utah Valley University. Caldiero's work has been reviewed by Village Voice and The New York Times and is in “A Dicitonary of the Avant-Gardes.”
Co-Directors
Torben Bernhard & Travis Low
Co-Producers
Marissa Bernhard & Vegor Pedersen
Cinematography
Torben Bernhard & Travis Low
Editing
Torben Bernhard & Travis Low
Additional Cinematography
Alex Caldiero & Andrew James
Editing Supervisor
Marissa Bernhard
Production Sound
Torben Bernhard, Travis Low
& Cade Thalman
Post-production Sound
Andy Patterson
Production Assistants
Jason Grotegut & Jo Perez
Original Music
Alex Caldiero, Gentry Densley
& Tom Abbott
Photography
Ashley Thalman