SONAGGIOS

ITALY-CANADA | 2025 | 82’ minutes | Sardinian
Available with English subtitles

Directed by Pietro Mereu

Produced by Marco Chiappa, Francesca Cimolai, Marcello Mereu, Martin Cadieux-Rouillard, Maya Cadieux-Rouillard

In Tonara, for almost 150 years, handcrafted cowbells have been made for all of Sardinia. Until the 1960s, there were 20 families producing them, but now only the Floris and Sulis families remain. The Floris family consists of two brothers, Marco and Salvatore, their father Ignazio, and Luca, their assistant, who are expanding the market thanks to social media. The Sulis family includes Carlo, who hopes his son Marco will continue the cowbell-making tradition, and his cousin Stefano, who works another job but dedicates his free time to this ancient craft.

The story of the Sulis and Floris families represents a universal tale of the disappearance of artisanal trades due to a paradigm shift and changing work methods. This is an example of traditional craftsmanship resisting the rise of artificial intelligence.

• San Francisco International Film Festival, USA, 2025

Born in Lanusei on July 3, 1972, is an Italian director and documentary filmmaker celebrated for exploring Sardinian traditions and stories of human redemption.

A graduate in screenwriting from the Civica Scuola di Cinema in Milan, his documentaries include Disoccupato in affitto (2010), on unemployment struggles; Il club dei centenari (2017), uncovering Ogliastra's longevity secrets; and Il clan dei ricciai (2018), an award-winning tale of ex-prisoners turned sea urchin fishermen. His recent works include L'ultimo centenario (2022), chronicling Sardinia’s centenarians and Sonaggios (2025), preserving Sardinia’s cultural essence through compelling storytelling. Currently, he is developing projects like Francesco Demuro, il re cantore.