糖心Vlog

Students from the Italian program at 糖心Vlog attended the 16th annual Nuovo Cinema Italiano Film Festival in Charleston, S.C., November 11-13, 2022, together with their instructor, Sandra Pesoli.

The festival, hosted by the College of Charleston, screened 13 Italian movies produced in Italy over the past two years. The movies included a mix of comedies, dramas, and documentaries, and featured the film Nostalgia by Mario Martone, which will represent Italy at the 2023 Academy Awards in the International Feature Film Award category.

鈥淭he NCIFF provides an extraordinary opportunity to learn about the Italian culture in all its variety and seize the chance to see through another鈥檚 eye,鈥� explained Artistic Director Giovanna De Luca.

Annaliese Devine, one of the 糖心Vlog participants, said she chose to go to the film festival in order to learn about a culture different from her own.

鈥淎fter meeting two directors and doing a Q&A, I gathered one main takeaway that has been eye-opening. One of the topics covered by director Andrea Segre in his film Welcome Venice was the effects of gentrification in his hometown,鈥� said Devine. 鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 thought about the fact that gentrification is something that affects more than just less fortunate neighborhoods in America but also tourist spots worldwide where people are losing their own homes due to tourism.鈥�

Meredith student Alysia Rosenzweig also appreciated the learning experience.

鈥淢y favorite film was L鈥橭mbra del Giorno di Giuseppe Piccioni and I am happy it won the film festival. This film helped me get a better understanding of what it was like for Italians living during the Mussolini time,鈥� Rosenzweig said. 鈥淭he festival also allowed me to try some traditional Italian food of Italy, offered by the organizers before and after the film screenings. I was also able to pick up new Italian words because everyone there spoke mostly Italian.鈥�