Episode Details

On this episode of ITALICS: Television for the Italian American Experience, we will explore the topic of homosexuality in Italian America. We will take you to NOIAW’s Annual Epiphany Celebration. You will get a sneak peek at the documentary, “Finding the Mother Lode,” by filmmakers Gianfranco Norelli and Suma Kurien; and find out about forthcoming events at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute.

Joining us in our studio are several notable members of the community who have written on
the topic of homosexuality in Italian America and can relate to being gay and Italian American. Michael Carosone, writer, educator, and activist, and Joseph LoGiudice, social worker, writer, and educator – partners, and the writers and editors of “Our Naked Lives: Essays from Gay Italian American Men” – and playwright and poet Franco D’Alessandro, who has had twenty international, off-Broadway, off-off Broadway, regional and international productions of his work, talk with our host, Dr. Anthony Julian Tamburri.

Earlier this month, NOIAW – the National Organization of Italian American Women – held it’s Greater New York Annual Epiphany Celebration at the Columbus Citizens Foundation, in honor of Three Wise Women: Dr. Christine Cea , Researcher at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities; Anna Fiore, Headmistress of La Scuola D'Italia Guglielmo Marconi; and Lauren Ruotolo, Director of Entertainment Promotions at Hearst Magazine, author and motivational speaker, all received awards from the NIOAW leadership.

Gianfranco Norelli’s and Suma Kurien’s follow-up to their critically acclaimed documentary “Pane Amaro (Bitter Bread),” on the Italian immigration to the East Coast of the United States, “Finding the Mother Lode” documents the experience of Italian immigrants in California, how economic and social mobility became possible for many Italians in the Golden State, and how immigrant identity is maintained and transformed as immigrants become assimilated into mainstream America. We’ll give you a sneak peek of the film, which will be screened at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in February, as well as announce some other events occurring next month.

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