Nine Good Teeth unfolds through the stories of 103-year-old Brooklyn-born, Sicilian-American Mary Mirabito.  In an intimate and often hilarious portrait, the fiercely independent and outspoken Mary dispenses homespun wisdom in a series of unflinching conversations with her persistent and equally outspoken grandson director Alex Halpern.  Mary’s desire, from an early age, to live her life equal to that of a man, was often in direct conflict with her roles as daughter, wife, mother, matriarch and first-generation American.  As she divulges family secrets and rivalries, Mary confronts her own mortality with candor and courage while remaining the rock on which the rest of her family relies.  Perhaps what is most remarkable about the documentary is Halpern’s insistence on ferreting out the most painful aspects of his family mythology in an irreverent, uncompromising fashion.

Post-screening discussion with the director led by Edvige Giunta, New Jersey City University.