L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY O n January 31st, the Black Italy Festival kicked off in the Bay Area, offering a range of movies and shorts that highlight and celebrate Italian diversity and Italians of African descent. The Festi- val is organized by the Ital- ian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with other local organizations. Black History Month was conceived by historian Wood- s o n a n d o t h e r p r o m i n e n t African Americans to com- memorate and celebrate the c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s t o t h e U n i t e d States. Since its inception in 1926, National African American History Month has become a celebration in February and people in the U n i t e d S t a t e s h o n o r t h e achievements and history of African Americans as part of it. The director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Anna- maria di Giorgio, is very excited about this program: "The IIC SF is proud to have organized the first Black Ital- ian Festival in the Bay area, partnering with Director and Producer Fred Kowornu and with other significant part- ners such as Berkeley Univer- sity, MOAD (Museum of the African Diaspora), with the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy in San Fran- cisco." She continues: "This initia- tive aims at being a further s t e p t o w a r d s i n c r e a s i n g awareness and understanding of the contributions and expe- riences of Black Italians. I t h i n k w e h a v e r e a c h e d a point: it's about time – like Lizzo says – to highlight and celebrate the diverse voices and perspectives that make up Italian culture. This retro- spective provides a unique platform to showcase the rich and diverse stories of black Italians and to promote cul- tural exchange and under- standing. I hope that it will inspire more similar initia- t i v e s i n t h e f u t u r e , a n d i n c r e a s e t h e v i s i b i l i t y o f underrepresented communi- ties in Italian culture." The festival opened in San Francisco with a documen- tary by Fred Kudjo Kuwor- nu, The Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema. Director Kuworn traveled from the Big Apple to present the sixty-minute doc- u m e n t a r y u n c o v e r i n g t h e careers of several entertain- ers. He discloses all struggles and triumphs that Afro-Ital- ian, African-American, and Afro-descendant actors have f a c e d i n t h e I t a l i a n f i l m industry, while mirroring their labors with those of con- temporary actors who are working to find respectable and non-stereotypical roles. Fred Kudjo Kuwornu is a filmmaker and producer, as well as an educator and a diversity and inclusion con- sultant. His work deals with political and social themes, and it never holds back from raising awareness of racism, i n t e r r a c i a l r e l a t i o n s , a n d diversity. As the first Italian of African descent to become a director and the owner of a film production company, he talked to us about his work and about the documentary he presented at Innovit in San Francisco. Why is it important to h a v e s u c h a s e r i e s o f works to celebrate Black History Month? T h a n k s t o m o v i e s l i k e these, we can tell stories in a new, different way. I got the idea of a series of this kind many years ago, however, there was not enough materi- a l c o m i n g f r o m I t a l i a n African artists. When I moved to the US, I was surprised and happy to see how the contri- butions of artists of African descent are celebrated and honored. I did some work and finally gathered Italian names and titles that could be a good fit for this series. H o w w e r e t h e s e m o v i e s p i c k e d ? A n d what's the main topic of the series? There's not a topic, really. There wasn't a broad selec- tion of titles to choose from quite yet. But we wanted to give visibility to the artists that have already done some work. We picked documen- taries focusing on the history of the Italian diaspora, as well as documentaries that talk about immigration and the j o u r n e y o f p e o p l e w h o migrate to Italy. Some movies converge on people's passion, like Autumn Beat. W h a t ' s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t m e s s a g e t o c o m e a c r o s s f o r I t a l y , I t a l i a n s , a n d I t a l i a n expats? We had the opportunity to tell Italian stories outside of our country, and we knew well in advance that we would need to deal with the stereo- types and high expectations coming with it. We are meet- ing our goal of attracting an audience that includes Ital- ians, Italian expats, and Ital- ians of African descent. The value of this series, especially in the US, comes from an audience of people who love Italy and Italian cinema as well as all those who want to learn how African immigrants live in Italy. Another important date for this series is February 11th, w h e n t h e R o x i e T h e a t r e opens its door to Autumn Beat and its director. Co-pre- sented by the Museum of the African Diaspora, this Ama- zon Studios and Indiana Pro- ductions work is the story, told by director Antonio Dikele Distefano, of Black c u l t u r e i n I t a l y a n d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f m u s i c a s a means of redemption and identity. Tito and Paco are brothers whose passion for rap music tells the audience a story about their love for the same woman, which tests the siblings' bond. This is not Dikele Diste- fano's first artistic effort. Born and raised in Ravenna, Emilia Romagna, his movie Zero debuted on Netflix in 2021 and brought attention to the life of Italian Black people. He began creating content for TV and social media, had books published between 2014 and 2019, as well as a magazine, Esse, considered now an out- let for young Black artists seeking recognition for their work and talent. Giving voice to this underserved communi- ty allows people to exist and to be seen. Even if mainstream media choose to not tell their stories, they are no longer invisible. In March, the series will move to Oakland and its New Parkway Theatre, which will welcome shorts from five dif- ferent artists. Nadia Ali is an Italian director and producer o f E g y p t i a n d e s c e n t , w h o moved to the US in 2011. With her short La Mia Milano she tells the story of a group of second-generation Italians dealing with racism and police brutality in the city of Milan. Thirteen minutes is the t i m e d i r e c t o r K a s s i m Yassin Saleh needs to tell the story of a ten-year-old S o m a l i a n r e f u g e e i n t h e movie Idris, which premiered at the 2017 Venice Interna- tional Film Festival in the special section MigrArti. Idris, the main character, arrived in Italy on a boat along with other immigrants. He lost his parents and, when in Rome, he met other kids with whom he can play while waiting for his own destiny to unfold. Amin Nour takes on the story of a young Somali man raised in Rome while he gets ready to meet his girlfriend's p a r e n t s . A j o u r n e y i n Mohamed's life, right before the date takes place. The Moor by Daphne Di Cinto is the story of Alessan- dro de' Medici, legitimized into the de' Medici family after being revealed as the son of an enslaved African woman a n d P o p e C l e m e n t V I I . Haunted by the stigma of his low birth and a mother he barely remembers, Alessan- dro must come to terms with his roots and is forced to face his father's inability to accept him, while fending off his c o u s i n ' s p o w e r - h u n g r y attacks. Laila Petrone's short is about a father and his daugh- ter who connect with their Puerto Rican roots by reach- ing out to victims of a hurri- cane. Laila Petrone is an Ital- ian-Dominican filmmaker, raised between Rome and Los A n g e l e s . I n 2 0 0 7 , s h e appeared as Pina in Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna and she decided to pursue a career as a director. In the following years, Laila worked as an assistant director and produc- er. The series comes to an end on March 18th at Berkeley Center for New Media, with a conference on Afrofuturism, A n c i e n t E g y p t a n d B l a c k Visual Arts, with Claudia Attimonelli from the Uni- versity of Bari Aldo Moro and A b u Q a d i m H a q q , a n American visual artist who w a s b o r n a n d r a i s e d i n Detroit, Michigan. More info on times and venues can be found on the Italian Cultural Institute web- site https://iicsanfrancisco. esteri.it SERENA PERFETTO Black Italian Film Showcase was launched by Director Fred Kuwornu (Photo: Black Italian Film Showcase) Black Italy Festival: San Francisco welcomes the first celebration of Afro-Italian talents in movies

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