L'Italo-Americano

The woman who wants to change the world's opinion about Africa: Vanessa Crocini, special guest of the D.I.V.E. "I went to Africa by myself and I am not crazy" reveals Vanessa Crocini, a Tuscany native writer, director, editor and producer of Get Together Girls: a six awards winning documentary, including Best Documentary, Best Directing, Best Story, and Audience Award at the Los Angeles Women's Independent Film Festival and the Excellence and Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival for Environment, Health and Culture in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2009 Vanessa's first 'Africa call' arrived. After assisting Italian filmmaker Alessandro Rocca with the direction of The Consul's List in Rwanda, Vanessa knew she had to go back to Africa and she under- stood that social impact docu- mentaries are what she really wants to do in her life. She wants to tell stories and portray charac- ters and events to people who otherwise would not have a chance to know about those sto- ries. "Anyone watching these types of documentaries will have to think" says Vanessa, "When you watch a romantic comedy you'll forget most of it in a week, while in a documentary there will be things you won't be able to forget. A documentary will always teach you something, always" says Vanessa about what she considers to be the most interesting aspect of documen- taries. After coming back from Rwanda Vanessa contacted Amani for Africa and a board member told her about Grazia 'Grace'—the biggest inspiration for Vanessa's multiple award winning documentary Get Together Girls. "My jaw dropped" says Vanessa about the moment she first heard about Grace Orsolato, a successful woman who left her whole com- fortable Italian life behind, including a stable and well paid job at Pirelli in Milan to move to Africa with a couple of sewing machines and start a tailoring project in Kenya. "This was my movie" Vanessa recalls, "my instinct told me that." She then started a fundraising on Indiegogo, an International crowdfunding platform, but "Vasco Rossi jumped in". The iconic face and voice of Italian rock, Vasco Rossi. Vanessa worked with Vasco before and one day, "while chit chatting about literature, philosophy, about everything" Vasco asked her what she was working on at the moment, and as soon as Vanessa told him about the docu- mentary, she remembers Vasco speaking in third person to her, telling her "Vasco can produce it." Vanessa was in shock as she was not expecting it. She never doubted that Vasco was a won- derful human being but she just wasn't expecting that she could count on the help of a star of that level. Vasco Rossi "is very proud" says Vanessa "he got to know a women world he wasn't familiar with." Vanessa left for Kenya com- pletely alone, without any crew "it was just me, my camera and a microphone." In March 2011 Vanessa arrived in Nairobi and lived with Grace for five weeks while also spending the work day with all the other girls, the main characters of the documentary, the "street girls" "who are not prostitutes as people may think" but simply homeless girls who now have the opportunity of a brighter future thanks to Grace and Anita's home, the youth rehabilitation center a few miles south of Nairobi. The Tuscan female director didn't know exactly what she was going to film, as she had no clue about what the girls would have shared with her and most of all, if they were all willing to share their lives and stories. She remembers her first day in Nairobi telling the girls that her documentary would have given them "a third chance" as the sec- ond chance was already given to them by the tailoring project—a wonderful opportunity that inspired Vanessa's documentary that was screened in 14 different film festival around the world. This young Italian director thinks that this is just the begin- ning for her and that she has a very long road ahead of her, but now she feels it's her mission, her responsibility to "open eyes" and show people that there isn't just negativity about Africa, that there are beautiful and positive stories to be told, stories of strong and beautiful women. L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2014 www.italoamericano.com 16 THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2014 On this year's International Women's Day, March 8th 2014, Vanessa was invited as a special guest to the traditional gathering organized by the non-profit asso- ciation D.I.V.E. (Donne Italiane che Vivono all'Estero, Italian Women Who Live Abroad). Founded in Washington DC in 2001 with the aim of promoting the association and integration of Italian women within the American society, the Los Angeles chapter of the D.I.V.E. is chaired by Lucia Peretti and counts over 95 members, who meet every month in a friendly atmosphere to share information and experiences, while preserv- ing the Italian language and cul- ture. Vanessa Crocini believes that on La Festa della Donna - Women's Day - women are given the opportunity to speak, expose, and start a dialogue, even though women are celebrat- ed every day, in every moment, as she reminds that Get Together Girls starts with an African proverb that says "When you educate a girl, you educate a community." However, to educate isn't enough for Vanessa: what's also important is to be respectful and to tell a story in a very dignified way, without any pietism. Get Together Girls's trailer and some of its clips have been watched on Vimeo in 116 differ- ent countries worldwide. "That's real empowerment" says Vanessa, "because maybe some- one, somewhere, watched the video and wants to start a similar project." Vanessa has an adopted niece from Ethiopia who has changed her life. Her ties to Africa go far beyond any storytelling and vol- unteering activities. "Africa is in my blood" says Vanessa, and it's inked on her skin too, it's in her clothes, in her jewelry, in the music she listens to. Vanessa would love to continue telling African stories, redemption sto- ries, and positive stories. To support, learn more about the project and watch the docu- mentary visit http://gettogether- girls.com and www.gtogcollec- tion.org to take a look or shop the Get Together Girls clothing and accessories collection. Director Vanessa Crocini ElENA VIPERA Among the large number of interesting initiatives organized by local Italian American orga- nizations such as the San Padre Pio Society and the Associazione Pugliese del Sud California, particularly suc- cessful was the last one-day bus trip to Pechanga Casino that took place in late February. On that occasion, almost 100 people were gathered on two different buses. One of them left from St. Peter's Church with Mrs. Maria Bruno, presi- dent of the San Padre Pio Society, the other from Arcadia with Mrs. Tonia Tenerelli and Mr. Mike Foschetti, president of the Associazione Pugliese del Sud California. These two Associations are extremely dynamic, and their members usually engage in several activities, from picnics to festive meetings, most of them with charity purposes. For example, every summer the Associazione Pugliese del Sud California assigns a scholarship to a qualified student of Italian to promote our language and culture among the new genera- tions. In particular, the proceeds from the short trip to the Pechanga Casino in Temecula was intended to benefit the Italian Catholic Church of St. Peter and the adjoining Casa Italiana. "The local Italian American community and the members of our organizations are always on the front line to give their contribution and to support good causes. We appreciate this type of commit- ment, and we are so glad to be able to rely on it", says Mrs. Maria Bruno. She would like to thank all the attendees, includ- ing the vice president of the San Padre Pio Society Pasquale Bruno, Francesca Deligio, Yolanda Lella Wardeh, and Ada Iezza. All the participants greatly enjoyed the experience, and they are ready to sign up for the next charity bus trip or the next Italian-style adventure. SIlVIA SIMoNETTI Trip to Pechanga with the San Padre Pio Society and the Associazione Pugliese del Sud California Tonia Tenerelli, Mike Foschetti, and Maria Bruno Sara Botta, Vanessa Crocini, Italian singer Matteo Setti, Lucia Peretti, Emanuela Boni, Marisa Antonini, and Patrizia Germano

• Cover