Blaxploitalian : 100 years of blackness in Italian cinema / Do the Right Films Entertainment ; a film by Fred Kudjo Kuwornu ; producers, Kalon Jackson, Elliott "Lee" Cowart, Curtis Caesar John, Fred Kudjo Kuwornu.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Kuwornu, Fred Kudjo, director, producer.

John, Curtis Caesar, producer.

Cowart, Elliott, producer.

Jackson, Kalon, producer.

Do The Right Films Entertainment, production company.

Series:

Academic Video Online

Language:

English

Italian

Subjects (All):

Black people in the motion picture industry--Italy.

Black people in the motion picture industry.

Actors, Black--Italy--Interviews.

Actors, Black.

Motion pictures--Casting--Italy.

Motion pictures.

Genre:

Documentary films.

Feature films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (60 minutes)

Other Title:

Blaxploitalian : one hundred years of blackness in Italian cinema

Place of Publication:

Uniondale, NY : Blue Rose Films, 2016.

Language Note:

In English, with interviews in Italian with English subtitles.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

"Blaxploitalian" is a diasporic, hybrid, critical, and cosmopolitan dimension documentary that uncovers the careers of a population of entertainers seldom heard from before: Black actors in Italian cinema starting from 1915 when the first black actor appeared in an Italian film. BlaxploItalian cleverly discloses the personal struggles classic Afro-Italian; African-American; Afro-Caribbean and African diasporic actors faced, correlating it with the contemporary actors who work diligently to find respectable and significant roles. Thus our alternative aim is for the stories in BlaxploItalian to serve as a call-to-action with the intention of challenging worldwide mainstream filmmakers and audiences into calling for an enhancement and practicing of ethnic and racial diversity in casting for important roles within the international film/media industries. The fight for diversity and increased inclusion in the media, specifically film and television, is not limited to the United States or the United Kingdom, but is a global concern. Much like how #OscarsSoWhite exposed this problem to a new generation of filmgoers, what we are doing with our BlaxploItalian documentary is introducing to audiences precisely how global this issue is, starting with one of the last places you expect to find the African diaspora - Italy. Modern-day Italy is racially diverse, yet, if you find it difficult to find noteworthy Black characters in American cinema, not just tokens for a feel-good diversity quotient, it is ten times worse in Italy and throughout Europe. The journey through history that BlaxploItalian uncovers, with 20th century actors from Africa, the USA, and Latin America becoming Italian sensations - all at a cost, juxtaposed with the struggles of contemporary Afro-Italian actors constantly only offered stereotypical roles, can be difficult to witness. But the dedication to their craft despite these tensions is a testament to a better future, ripe with higher possibilities that the directors, producers, and actors of BlaxploItalian are working to make happen.

Participant:

Interviewees: Harold Bradley, Germano Gentile, Tztá Abraham, Fiona May, Fred Williamson, Letizia Sedrick, Denny Méndez, Iris Peynado, Salvatore Marino, Jonis Bascir, Livio Beshir, Stefano Morelli, Juliet Esey Joseph, Sheelleen Greene, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Rosetta Giuliani Caponetto, Derek Duncan, Vito Zagarrio, Leonardo de Franceschi, Antar Marincola, Ed Guerrero, and Curtis John.

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed August 03, 2018).

OCLC:

1052764830