Film Screening: Afro Italians: Stories of Resistance, Renaissance,

In collaboration with the Transnational Italian Studies Program, the Carsey-Wolf Center is pleased to present two short films examining the long and ongoing history of Black African life in Italy.

Daphne Di Cinto’s Il Moro (The Moor) is a short film about the untold story of Alessandro de’ Medici, the first Duke of Florence in 1530 and the first man of African descent to become a head of state in Renaissance Europe. While unveiling a true story from the past, the film aims to speak loudly of the situations that Black Europeans are still experiencing today and to celebrate today’s Afro-European community in the history of the continent. Alan Maglio and Medhin Paolos’ Asmarina is a documentary about the Habesha (Eritrean and Ethiopian) community in Milan. The film bridges the present life of this community to the historical legacies of Italian colonialism in the Horn of Africa, helping us to understand the Habesha not as outsiders or recent arrivals, but rather as involved and invested members of this community.

In this event, filmmakers Daphne Di Cinto and Medhin Paolos will join moderator Stephanie Malia Hom (French & Italian Studies, UCSB) for a virtual post-screening discussion of Il Moro and Asmarina.