L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 L'Italo-Americano A journey around Sicily and among Sicilians. The attachment to the Italian heritage and the passion to tell stories and help understand culture from a new, extraordinary pers pective. D irector Luca V u llo, from Caltanissetta, has put his abili- ties, knowledge, and interests together and is now one of the most interesting young profes- sionals able to narrate things about Italy through cinema. F rom his firs t documentary Cumu Veni si Cunta to other s hort docudramas like U n Car us o Senz a Nom e, Fr om Sulphur to Coal, and The Voice of the Body, Luca has won a number of awards and lives now in London, where he filmed his last documentary. We met him in Oakland where he is teaching the special, unique art of using gestures to students of La Scuola Italiana of Middlebury at the Mills College. How would you call your- self? I am a crazy guy that can't help but being multitasking. I was aware about my skills as a communicator but I discovered them only through work. I am a director, an author, I love adver- tising, but I also work in schools and universities where I teach s ome interactive w orks hops about s pecial as pects of the Italian culture, the gestures. Since gestures usually come across as a stereotype or some- thing to be ashamed of, I believe it is crucial that foreigners under- stand the importance of their ital- ianità. This is a talent Italians have and, once others perceive it this way too, it becomes some- thing to both teach and learn. How d id th is ad ven tu re start? All began thanks to my docu- drama called "La voce del corpo" (The voice of the body) where I explore Sicilians' ges- tures. The project aimed to show s omething unexplored about Sicilian people. Sicily is the region with lots of dominations, Arab, Turkish, Greek, Spanish, and so on, that contributed to the existing cultural mix. What start- ed as a passion of showing how Sicilians use their hands to com- municate is now one of the main activities. I love it because it lets me narrate something about our country that cannot be found in books or literature. And I am glad this concept is today wel- come worldwide. Any anecdote related to it? I was in London and, after the showing of the documentary, one person from the National Theatre bought one copy. A fter tw o months, I was contacted by the Director of the theatre who was working to take Pirandello's Liolà on stage. He showed the documentary to the actors and they asked to take classes in order to learn and better under- stand how to use the gestures needed for the show. When did you start teach- ing? Those forty-five actors at the National Theatre were my first students, who had to learn a vari- ety of gestures. Soon after I was interviewed by The Guardian newspaper and the BBC wanted me as consultant in a show for deaf people. Finally, the Bristol U nivers ity became the firs t school to have Italian gestures classes and I became the teacher. After that, I travelled to schools in Australia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Norway, and the US. What does impress students the most? What shocks is the numbers of gestures Italians can use while speaking. During the first class, nobody expects to deal with many different gestures; stu- dents are usually surprised from both the variety and the quantity. Each gesture can have many meanings, according to the body language, the context, the words, and the facial expressions, each one is unique. At the end of the workshop, they understand how relevant gestures can be in a convers ation: Italians could spend time with others without speaking and, by using only ges- tures, they would be totally able to communicate and understand each other. Which gesture is the hard- est to teach? The toughest gestures are those expressing something in contrast with what it is said through words. They are associ- ated with the body language, so it is usually a positive gesture which does not match the nega- tive word or facial expression. They are very hard to under- stand but, when the meaning is clarified, it's easy to deal with them. Which is your strategy to overcome th e s tereotyp e behind Italian gestures? I start from the stereotype that everybody knows, a gesture and all the meanings people have seen in movies for exam- ple. I begin from something rec- ognizable and go through the meaning and what's behind it. The same gesture, used in a vari- ety of contexts, can help express yourself in different ways. How do you like the oppor- tunity to teach here in the US? I was invited by the Director Antonio Vitti from La Scuola Italiana of Middlebury. I am doing some interactive work- shops about gestures but I am also helping with classes regard- ing Pirandello and the Italian gestures with teacher Giovanna Taviani, D irector V ittorio Taviani's daughter. What I like the most of these workshops is the cultural exchange we are all part of. There is an interaction that allows me to learn more about the A merican culture while doing my job: teaching students how Italian traditions, history, and heritage can be learnt and pas s ed on als o Luca Vullo. Photo Credits Marco Parollo Beyond stereotypes: Director Luca Vullo and the ar t of Italian gestures SERENA PERFETTO Luca Vullo with his students at the Italian School of Middlebury at Mills College (Photo Credits Joe Di Rezze)

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