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Mediated Ethnicity: Italian Americans and the Cinematic Experience
The John D.
Calandra Italian American Institute, Queens College, and the Department of
Communication Studies, Weissman
School of Arts and Sciences, Baruch College
Thursday, April
6, 2006, 1-5:30 PM Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington
Avenue, entrance at East 25th Street Between Lexington and Third Avenues
Manhattan Admission:
Free
Seating is
limited and available on a first come basis. For further
information please call (212) 642-2094. Popular discussion of Italian Americans
and film incessantly, almost
exclusively, focuses on celluloid portrayals of gangsters by directors
Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and others. Yet recent film scholarship has brought to light a rich
and complicated history of cinematic representations of and production by
Italian Americans. Moving beyond
the mere celebratory, these scholarly publications are critically exploring
the visual construction of Italian American ethnicity and identity. Four scholars will discuss their
research ranging from the
Silent Era to contemporary independent films. Independent or
small-budgeted films have provided Italian-American directors with fruitful
opportunities to create varied and alternative stories that Hollywood film
companies seem disinclined to produce.
Directors Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno, Raymond De Felitta, and John Turturro
will discuss the production and content of their respective films, as well as
show representative clips. In addition,
three independent films will be featured in a series of evening screenings
that will be followed by discussion with the directors. Conference
Program Dr. Joseph Sciorra
Assistant
Director for Academic and Cultural Programs John D. Calandra
Italian American Institute Dr. Peter Vellon Acting Executive
Director John D. Calandra
Italian American Institute Prof. William Boddy
Department of
Communications Studies Weisman School of Arts and
Sciences, Baruch College
Professor Giorgio
Bertellini, University of Michigan “The Atlantic
Valentino: Italian Masculinity Between the Shores” Professor
Giuliana Muscio, Università di Padova “Santa Lucia WAS
NOT Luntana: Italian-American Film Production in the 1930s” Professor Peter
Bondanella, Indiana University “Hollywood
Italian Wise Guys in the Film Noir Era” Session II
Independent
Film Makers 3:45-5:30 PM
Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno, “Little Kings”
(2003) Raymond De
Felitta, “Two Family House” (2000) Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington
Avenue, entrance at East 25th Street Between Lexington
and Third Avenues
Manhattan
Thursday, April 27, 2006, 7-10PM “Little Kings” (2003), Marylou
Tibaldo-Bongiorno Tuesday, May 2, 2006, 7-10PM “Mac” (1992), John Turturro Friday, May 5,
2006, 7-10PM A Q&A with
the director will follow each screening. For further
information please call (212) 642-2094. This event was
made possible with a generous grant from the National Italian American
Foundation (www.niaf.org).
[Return to the Academic & Cultural Programs page.] |
