Comunicato stampa
An event dedicated to the Italian spirit in American cinema between artistic skills, resistance and prejudices.
The Spartenze Festival continues with its preview stages. After the success Calabrese the festival arrives in the capital with an event dedicated to the Italians of America. Thus continues the narration of the divisions, this time with a particular look at the United States.
Between 1880 and 1915, fifteen million Italians left Italy: a third reached the United States. The contribution made by these Italians to the construction of the USA has been remarkable, in all fields. In the artistic field, the role assumed by the Italian spirit in cinema and theater takes on an important role, passing through music. This will be the fulcrum of the moment organized at the Casa del Cinema di Roma Wednesday 24 November at 15.00 pm.
"The Return of the Italians who made America", on the one hand, will tell the long and articulated history of generations of Italians (artists and not) who have a decisive contribution to the construction of the American country; on the other hand, the complex and painful theme of prejudice that has long affected Italians in America will be tackled. In particular, during the meeting entitled "Those good guys: stereotypes, prejudices, and the influence of Italians in American cinema", the way in which cinema has played a decisive role in building and feeding against Italians and the Italian descendants stereotypes and racial prejudices that only recently can perhaps be said to have died out.
After the institutional greetings of Fuchsia Nissoli, Honorable Elected Foreign District North and Central America, and various Representatives of Regions, Provinces, Municipalities and associations, the event will be divided into a series of moments between discussions, debates, film screenings and singing performances . Wanted by the artistic director of the Festival Giuseppe Sommario, the first part of the event will see the discussion entitled "Those good guys: stereotypes, prejudices, and the influence of Italians in American cinema" with speeches by Anthony Tamburri, Queens College, City University of New York and Director of the Calandra Italian American Institute, Giuliana Muscio, Historian of cinema (University of Padua), and Fabio Rossi, University of Messina.
During the second Focus, entitled “Robert Vignola, from Trivigno to Hollywood”, Giuliana Muscio, historian of cinema (University of Padua), and Luigi Scaglione, President of the Centro Studi Lucani nel Mondo will speak. While the third moment, "The Italians who made America", will see the interventions of Marianna Gatto, Executive Director of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA), and Luigi Petruzzellis, head of the Regional Museum of Marchigiana Emigration (Mema ).
Among all the Italians in America, a unique and extraordinary case is that of Enrico Caruso (Naples 1873-1921), a bridge figure between high culture and low culture, an artist with a strong and brilliant personality who always remained Italian, indeed, to be precise, Neapolitan, even after gaining fame. The event is dedicated to him, on the centenary of his death, with the screening of the documentary The greatest singer in the world (2021) directed by Giuliana Muscio. The documentary is supported by the Directorate General for Italians Abroad and Migration Policies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). In the following discussion, in addition to the author, Luigi Maria Vignali, Minister Plenipotentiary, Director General for Italians Abroad and Migration Policies (MAECI), and the Director of the Festival delle Spartenze Giuseppe Sommario will speak.
The last stage of the evening will be dedicated to the Spartenze 2021 Award with the assignment and delivery of the recognition given each year by the Festival. Throughout the event, the Lucanian artist Caterina Pontrandolfo will sing some songs of the Italian migrant tradition, while the chroniclers of the AsSud Campus, curated by Marianna Bruschi and Guido Bosticco, will follow all the contents.
