The independently produced documentary MEN OF THE CLOTH premieres in Boston on Thursday December 10th at 7 PM at the Museum of Fine Arts. The film by Vicki Vasilopoulos is an inspiring portrait of three Italian master tailors. It received production grants and seed funding from the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) and had its world premiere at DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in America.

Vicki Vasilopoulos will do a Q&A following the screening along with several special guests: master tailor Alan Rouleau of Alan Rouleau Couture on Newbury Street (recognized with "Best of Boston" awards from Boston Magazine); retired Italian master tailor Joe Calautti, who owned Rizzo Tailor in Harvard Square for 42 years; Michelle Finamore, the Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts at the MFA Boston and co-author of "Gaetano Savini: The Man Who Was Brioni," and two professors from the Fashion Design Program at Lasell College in Newton, MA -- Lynn Blake, chair of the fashion department; and assistant professor Carol Emanuelson.

MEN OF THE CLOTH has had successful premieres at such well-known venues as the Village East in New York City, the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY, the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto and the Bryn Mawr Film Institute near Philadelphia. MEN OF THE CLOTH has also screened at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Craft in Focus Festival in Amsterdam, and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. The film was an Audience Favorite at the Three Rivers Film Festival in Pittsburgh. The men's lifestyle magazine A & H said: "A captivating tale of an art in both remission and resurgence, MEN OF THE CLOTH is a journey across the globe unifying craftsmanship and style." The Globe and Mail of Canada said "The documentary is an attempt to do for suit-making what Jiro Dreams of Sushi did for Japanese cuisine: A celebration of devotion, craft and, possibly, an endangered art form."

MEN OF THE CLOTH unravels the mystery of the tailor's artistry and reveals how their passionate devotion to their Old World craft is akin to a religion. The film centers around Nino Corvato, Joe Centofanti, and Checchino Fonticoli, master tailors who have spent a lifetime perfecting the skills necessary to construct flawless custom-made suits for their clients in New York City, Philadelphia and Penne, Italy. Now in the twilight of their career, they fear that their Old-World knowledge will vanish with them. Enter Joe Genuardi, a Philly native and a tailoring apprentice who reflects the resurgence of popular interest in artisanal craftsmanship as an alternative to corporate mass production, providing hope for the future of this craft.

Joe Centofanti, who grew up in the Abruzzi region of Italy, was profiled in The Philadelphia Inquirer and was the tailor to former ambassador Walter Annenberg. He was a member of the World Congress of Tailors and a past president of the Custom Tailors and Designers Association. Sicilian-born Nino Corvato received an award as an Italian-American of Distinction from the New York State Legislature. Checchino Fonticoli, the retired master tailor from the world-renowned luxury brand Brioni (based in Penne, Italy), received a Master of Trade award from the president of the Italian Republic.

Vicki Vasilopoulos says, "I truly admire artisans like Joe and Nino, who have lived a life of meaning and purpose – and create clothing as beautiful inside as it is outside. Their skills were honed over the course of a lifetime – and my film honors their legacy for a younger generation." Vicki Vasilopoulos was a Senior Fashion Editor at DNR, the men's news magazine (now a part of WWD). Vicki has published features in The New York Times, Esquire, Time Out New York and New Jersey Monthly. She is a member of the Independent Filmmaker Project, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the International Documentary Association, and New York Women in Film and Television, for which she served as a film series programmer. Vicki received a B.A. in Journalism from NYU and has studied at the Paris Fashion Institute in France and at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. MEN OF THE CLOTH is her first film.