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On November 9, 2018, Fred Kuwornu presetented Blaxploitalian. 100 Years of Black in Italian Cinema (59') (2016), a diasporic, hybrid, and critical documentary that uncovers the careers of a population of entertainers seldom heard from before: African-American and African descent actors in Italian cinema. 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.
Fred "Kudjo" Kuwornu, an activist-producer-writer-director, was born and raised in Italy and based in Brooklyn. His mother is an Italian Jew, and his father a Ghanaian surgeon who lived in Italy since the early 60's. After his experience, working with the production crew of Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna (in 2007 as on location Set P.A.) Fred decided to research the unknown story of the 92nd Infantry "Buffalo Soldiers" Division, which fought in Europe during WWII. Fred thus produced and directed the Awardwinning documentary Inside Buffalo ("Best Documentary" at the Black Berlin International Cinema Festival). In 2012, he released 18 IUS SOLI which examines multiculturalism in Italy, but also specifically looks at questions of citizenship for the one million children of immigrants born and raised in Italy but are not yet Italian citizens.
