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Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema + Il Moro
Screening February 19, 2023
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Showtimes
Sunday, February 19th
1:00pm
Ticketing
$7 General Admission
$10 Sunday Double Feature
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“Instead of bookending his film with polite calls for diversity, Kuwornu [“Blacksploitalian”] might instead have emphasized their frustrated, determined, hopeful voices, urging filmmakers to recognize the multicultural population that will play a significant role in Italy’s future.” – The Village Voice
“The ‘IL MORO’ short film explores the value of origins and belonging throughout history, giving voice and representation to Europeans of African descent.” – New York Weekly
Watch Fred Kudjo Kuwornu’s Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema, preceded by a screening of short film Il Moro by Daphne Di Cinto.
Blaxploitalian: A documentary that uncovers the careers of a population of entertainers never heard from before: Black actors in Italian cinema. With modern day interviews and archival footage, the documentary discloses the personal struggles and triumphs that classic Afro-Italian, African-American, and Afro-descendant actors faced in the Italian film industry, while mirroring their struggles with those of contemporary actors who are working diligently to find respectable, significant, and non-stereotypical roles, but are often unable to do so.
Screens in Italian and English with English subtitles, Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, 65 mins, Italy, 2016
Il Moro (The Moor): Alessandro de’ Medici, son of an enslaved African woman and of Pope Clement VII, becomes the first Duke of Florence. Will he be able to demonstrate that his African origins can go hand in hand with belonging to the Medici family?
Screens in Italian with English subtitles, Daphne Di Cinto, 22 mins, Italy, 2021
Festivals, Awards, & Nominations
Winner (“Il Moro”) – Best Film, Afrobrix Film Festival 2022
Official Selection (“Il Moro”) – Cannes International Pan African Film Festival 2022
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP
Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema + Il Moro screen as a part of the Black Italian Film Showcase, presented by the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago, in collaboration with FACETS on the occasion of Black History Month. View full series.
