Vito After subject Vito Friscia and director Maria Pusateri (Photo: DreamSlate Productions)

Maria Pusateri knows the cops are going to show up when her powerful debut documentary Vito After has its world premiere tomorrow at IndieFest Chicago. She expects them to arrive early, and predicts there may even be enough of them to fill the theater.

At least that is her goal.

After all, Vito After features Pusateri's brother-in-law Vito Friscia, a New York City police detective suffering from lingering health ailments following his rescue work at Ground Zero on 9/11 and added months of recovery work at the Fresh Kills landfill. Pusateri chronicles Friscia's recollections of the day's attacks as well as his own attempts since 2001 to resume normal life as a husband, father and cop.

But in juxtaposing Vito's story with the accounts of his colleagues, doctors and a string of data collected in recent years, Pusateri applies an essential personal touch to an issue that has "news scoop" written all over it. "I knew that Vito was a great character, and I knew he had a great story," Pusateri told The Reeler. "And I was concerned about his health, so I wanted to see where that would go, not realizing when I started that it would take so long."

The Syosset-based Pusateri conceived Vito After in November 2001, when Newsday published a story about health concerns stemming from rescue workers' and other investigators' exposure to toxic dust among the ruins of the World Trade Center. When Pusateri's sister-in-law casually mentioned to her one day that Friscia was one of the detectives standing in the story's accompanying photograph, Pusateri began fleshing out a plan to talk to her brother-in-law for a possible documentary.

Friscia, who had already begun showing symptoms of what would eventually become known as the "WTC cough," initially refused to cooperate with Pusateri. After five months of nudging, however, he acquiesced at last, and Pusateri started shooting in spring 2002. "I had to start shooting right away," she said. "I had no choice. I couldn't wait for a grant, I couldn't wait for financing. And if I didn't get that first interview with him in May 2002, I don't think I would have gotten that raw emotion that came out in the (beginning). It would have been buried after that.

"I guess in a way I was lucky, even though I felt bad about it. It was good for the film."

Indeed, the film is at its best when documenting Friscia's subsequent tough-guy reluctance to consult a doctor about his illness, which a specialist eventually diagnoses onscreen as acute sinusitis that—if left untreated—wields a dangerous potential for infection. Pusateri contrasts this with a group of Friscia's fellow detectives who suffer similar afflictions, leading one to comment: "Coincidence? We're in police work. There are no coincidences."

And that comment may be the primary point on which Vito After hinges, and where a viewer cannot necessarily be blamed for wondering why Pusateri's thoroughgoing coverage leaves that question unanswered. Granted, the story is about Vito Friscia, and Pusateri interweaves footage of his family life and the girls' soccer team he coaches to demonstrate how each was integral in his emotional recovery. But Pusateri also includes a note that 400 detectives have reported WTC-related illnesses, and it is clear after viewing the film that Friscia himself could be integral to a longer piece detailing how city officials plan to handle post-9/11 health issues.

By February 2004, however, Friscia was ready to be done with the documentary. "I think he just didn't want to deal with it anymore," Pusateri said. "He was finished with it. He wanted to put it behind him, and he felt like every time he had a camera in front of him, it was probably digging in deeper again."

But she added that Friscia was "blown away" after seeing the film, and will be on hand to attend Saturday afternoon's premiere in Chicago. Pusateri has also received raves from Chicago-area cops who have screened the film, and she anticipates a strong word-of-mouth crowd to be on hand.

Meanwhile, Pusateri said she seeks a theatrical venue in New York that might donate its space to screen the film for NYPD detectives who worked at Staten Island's Fresh Kills landfill after 9/11. She is also working to arrange a fund-raiser screening of Vito After to take place in September. Keep an eye on the film's Web site for more information and announcements.