This film documents the experience of Italian immigrants in California, which was markedly different from that of their compatriots elsewhere in the United States. Through stories set in seven Italian communities throughout California, 'Finding the Mother Lode' examines how economic and social mobility became possible for many Italians in the Golden State. It is also a look at how immigrant identity is maintained and transformed as immigrants become assimilated into mainstream America.
BEYOND WISEGUYS shows how Italian Americans transformed themselves from "outsiders" -- stereotyped by the Hollywood establishment as mobsters -- into industry insiders and a creative force to be reckoned with. Using a mosaic of interviews with well-known contemporary Italian American filmmakers like Chazz Palminteri, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Jack Valenti, David Chase, Ben Gazzara, Isabella Rossellini, and others, the documentary highlights the ways in which these filmmakers use their heritage to positively shape the art and craft of American cinema. Told against the backdrop of Hollywood history, the documentary is lavishly punctuated with film clips, stills, and family photos -- many supplied by the interviewees themselves.
Chef and Italian immigrant Lidia Bastianich shares stories of first, second, and third-generation Americans shaping the shifting definition of what it means to be an American. As America grows more diverse than ever before, immigrants must figure out how much of their culture to keep and what to leave behind, and many are more openly sharing their heritage with a new country they now call home.
Each summer for the past one hundred years, local residents on an otherwise tranquil block in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn turn their lives upside down for two weeks in order to host the reenactment of a centuries-old religious pageant. The annual feast of San Paulino di Nola has its roots in an archaic fertility rite with exotic pagan undertones. Italians from the Campanese village of Nola, who emigrated to Williamsburg in the 1880s, brought their blessed saint statues, fig-trees, and traditional values to New York. Soon after they arrived in a new world of stoops and storefronts, they formed a special “society,” dedicated to maintaining the annual feast of their hometown saint in their new-world neighborhood. But what makes this display so spectacular is an 85-foot, 3-ton obelisk known as the Giglio, which, along with a full brass band and church pastor, is hoisted on the shoulders of 100 neighborhood men and carried aloft through the streets.
This documentary, by ethnographer Jay Sokolovsky, is about identity in an Italian market.
A documentary that explores the historic roots of the "The Hill" neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. Chronicling the Italians immigrating in search of the American Dream and building a "Little Italy" that still flourishes to this day.
Chronicles the experiences of Italian-Americans and Italian prisoners of war during World War II, and their assimilation into American culture. Includes historical photographs, archival footage, literature, music, poetry, and personal interviews.
In one of his most personal works, Martin Scorsese sits down with his parents, Catherine and Charles, in their New York apartment for a free-flowing discussion that touches on family history, the immigrant experience, and the meaning of Italian American identity.
This documentary traces the history of Italian immigrants in the United States.
Martin Scorsese reveals the story of a single performance in 1826 that changed America's cultural landscape with the introduction of Italian opera to New York City -an event Mozart's great librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte helped orchestrate.
The dramatic story of the "Uprising of the 20,000," the 1909 shirtwaist strike, is told through vignettes that explore immigrant women's lives in turn-of-the-century New York. The experiences of young Jewish and Italian working women address subjects including immigration, intergenerational conflict, "romance," ethnic tensions, industrial conflict, and the creation of a new consumer and entertainment culture.
One day in 2005, Lina Fruzzetti received a startling email that read, "If this is your father, we are cousins." There follows a decade-long quest to learn more about her Italian father who died young in Italian-ruled Eritrea and her Eritrean mother who does not dwell on the past. Above all, Fruzzetti strives to understand her far-flung African, European, and American family against the backdrop of colonial rule, worlds at war, migration, grief, diasporas, and the global world in which we all live.
Breaking Balls is a feature-length documentary film that follows three colorful figures involved in the game of bocce as viewed through the lens of the 30th Anniversary Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce tournament, one of the largest bocce events in North America, held every year at the Wickliffe Italian-American Club in Wickliffe, Ohio. These three storylines all come together at the 30th annual Challenge Cup Tournament, where we learn ultimately that bocce isn't just a quaint, backyard sport-it's a unique cultural tradition, a community of players, supporters, and fans, who are the soul of this unique sport, nurturing and passing down from one generation to the next their love and appreciation of this special game.
A brief history of the Italian Risorgimento provides the context for the great flight from the Mezzogiorno region, as well as the roots of the first generation's distinctive psychology. Through the travels of Italian migrant workers, we understand the transnational nature of these Birds of Passage. By the late 19th century, Italians begin to put down roots. Little Italies spring up in urban areas throughout the U.S. But the first generation holding onto their language and culture are branded as outsiders and mistrusted by non-Italians. In New Orleans, this mistrust explodes into violence, where eleven Italian Americans are murdered by an armed mob. While in San Francisco, a second-generation Italian American saves his community from disaster while creating one of the greatest financial institutions in America. Italian immigrants and their children start to become Italian Americans.
At the turn of the 20th century, over 4 million Italians immigrate to America to start new lives. Although mistrustful of government institutions, parents send their children to public schools to succeed in America. Leonard Covello is forced to give up his old world ways and adapt American mores, including changing his name; Arturo Giovannitti, a new immigrant to America, leads the largest labor strike of 1912, where Italian Americans push for better working conditions and decent wages. While Italian Americans are forced to worship in the basement of churches controlled by the Irish Archdiocese, they take to the streets to reinforce their beliefs and culture; anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti are executed, reinforcing stereotypes that plague Italian Americans today, while prohibition breeds a new kind of criminal who takes a shortcut to success.
Written and produced by John Maggio and narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor Stanley Tucci, “The Italian Americans” explores the evolution of the Italian community, from “outsiders” in the late nineteenth viewed with suspicion and mistrust to some of the most prominent leaders of business, politics and the arts today. This film examines how the second generation of Italian Americans entered politics and sports through Fiorello LaGuardia’s campaign for New York City mayor and Joe DiMaggio’s rise to fame as an all-American hero. However, Italians' loyalty to America was questioned during World War II. While many Italian Americans fought on the frontlines, others were labeled "Enemy Aliens" and stripped of constitutional rights. The war was a turning point for Italian Americans as they broke out of their enclaves.
In postwar America, Italian Americans seem finally to have arrived. They move to the suburbs, attend college, and enter the middle class. Italian American crooners define American cool, with Frank Sinatra leading the pack. But even as he skyrockets to fame, he is haunted by accusations of Mafia ties, an albatross Sinatra cannot escape from. Can Italian Americans ever fit into 1950s America, or will the specter of organized crime always bring them down? Popular media reinforces the negative stereotypes at the same time that Italian Americans are achieving success. Governor Mario Cuomo, the son of Italian immigrants achieves great success but struggles to straddle both worlds, while his sons' success promises full assimilation and acceptance. Antonin Scalia became the first Italian American put on the Supreme Court, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was elected the first woman and Italian American to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. But will there ever be an Italian American President? Have Italian Americans finally shed the old stereotypes and become fully accepted in America?
Ma's Kitchen is a heartfelt one woman dramedy, narrated by an Italian mother who invites you to her dinner party to celebrate her daughter, "Mary." As "Mama" makes her secret sauce, she shares ingredients for a flavorful life, exploring themes of marriage, career, secrets, love and loss.
Rocky Balboa, a club fighter seemingly going nowhere, gets his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go the distance and come out a winner when fate puts him in the ring with the world heavyweight champion.
Best Picture chronicles the epic tale of a 1940s mobster family in New York City, where the father builds an organized-crime empire and his three sons, to varying degrees, follow in his footsteps. Marlon Brando won Best Actor as the head of the "family."
Planning a trip to Rome? Vacationing in Venice? the Standard Deviants can help you learn the basics of Italian. Starting with the alphabet, this tape covers numbers, days of the week, and simple dialogues. learning Italian is fun and easy when you use the Standard Deviants' unique brand of humor, mnemonics, visual devices, and memory builders! (Formerly titled "The Standard Deviants the Lively World of Italian: The Basics")
In this exciting series on Italian, learn to speak about the present, the past, and the future through detailed work with verbs, nouns, and adjectives, plus you'll learn vocabulary on numerous, useful subjects. Also discover the romantic beauties of Campania, The "Marches", Il Veneto, and Tuscany, in an unforgettable immersion into Italy's splendorous language and culture.
Danyal and Buki, both 10 years old, live in Rome. In this program, they visit some of their favorite places in the city, introducing viewers to many of their friends and activities. The children speak Italian to each other and to the camera, helping to illustrate the meanings and usages of many Italian words, phrases, and expressions. Made up of eight instructive and entertaining stories, the video is a great learning tool that mixes fun, facts, and real-world situations to reinforce language comprehension.
Addresses the rules that apply to writing and speaking in Italian; considers pronunciation, stress placement, questions, dialects, conversational style and etiquette, body language, greetings, and the contributions of the Italian language to the vocabulary of music, fashion, and theater.
This video, produced by Greg Shepherd, is about the Italian language.
Learn the basics of Italian, beginning with things like numbers, the alphabet, and essential phrases. Then move on to example dialogues, definite and indefinite articles, and verb conjugation.
Pronunciation is the key to clear communication in any language and in this video series, you'll learn to perfect your Italian pronunciation! Whether you're new to Italian or have been studying for a while and want to polish your pronunciation, this series is for you.
3-minute long language sessions for Italian language and customs.
Learn Italian the EuroTalk way, using broadcast-quality video and the latest interactive techniques. Ideal for travelers, holidaymakers, business people, students, and families.
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