documentary about afro-italians actors celebrates ‘100 years of blackness in italian cinema’

New York-based Afro-Italian filmmaker and activist Fred “Kudjo” Kuwornu is taking on the media’s issues with race and stereotypes in a new documentary, “Blaxploitalian 100 Years of Black in Italian Cinema.” Born and raised in Italy, Kudjo began exploring race and identity at an early age under an Jewish-Italian mother and Ghanaian father. He previously produced and directed the Award-winning documentary “Inside Buffalo” about Black veterans who fought in Italy during World War II, and in 2012 he released “18 IUS SOLI”, which examines questions of citizenship for the one million children of immigrants born and raised in Italy.

“‘Blaxploitalian 100 Years of Black in Italian Cinema’” is a diasporic, hybrid, critical, and cosmopolitan dimension documentary that uncovers the careers of a population of entertainers seldom heard from before: African-American and African descent actors in Italian cinema,” Kudjo explains. “BlaxploItalian cleverly discloses the personal struggles classic Afro-Italian and African diasporic actors faced, correlating it with the contemporary actors who work diligently to find respectable and significant roles. It’s not only a film talk about black actors; but a critical analysis about diversity and typecasting in all the international media industry.”

Check out the trailer below!

TRAILER BLAXPLOITALIAN from Do The Rigth Films Entertainment on Vimeo.

The film has been selected at:

October, 2016 Rome Cinema Fest, Rome

February 2017, PAFF Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles

March 21 Charlotte Black Film Festival, North Carolina

June Martinique International Film Festival

August Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, Massachusetts

And next April it will be showed at New Voices in Black Cinema at BAM Brooklyn on Saturday, April 29th at 2pm at BAM Rose Cinemas.

*Hari Ziyad is a New York based storyteller and writer for AFROPUNK. They are also the editor-in-chief of RaceBaitR, deputy editor of Black Youth Project, and assistant editor of Vinyl Poetry & Prose. You can follow them on Twitter @hariziyad.

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