by Geneviève Makaping, Elia Moutamid, And Simone Brioni
Maka offers an account of Makaping’s journey of migration from Cameroon across the desert and the ocean, her arrival in Italy in 1982 following the tragic death of her partner, her success as a journalist and television host, and her more recent relocation to Mantua. Maka focuses on questions of national belonging, and it reflects on how the perception of migration and race has changed since Makaping first came to Italy in the 1990s. This contribution includes a short article in which the protagonist, the writer and the director of the film reflect upon their collaboration. It also includes a video recording of the Q&A roundtable with Michela Ardizzoni and Mariagrazia de Luca from the American Association of Italian Studies 2023 conference.
Invasions: “foreign” and otherwise. A reversal of the Gaze: Maka
This is a virtual roundtable held at the annual conference of the American Association for Italian Studies, at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, USA (May 18-20, 2023). The panel, consisting of Geneviève Makaping (Author and Actress), Elia Moutamid (Director), Graziano Chiscuzzu (Producer), and Simone Brioni (Author and Professor of Italian at Stony Brook University), discussed the collaborative process that led to the conception and creation of the documentary Maka (2023). Maka received two international awards for Best Documentary (‘Integrazione Film Festival’ in Bergamo and ‘Film Only Film Festival’, both in 2023).
The round table was organized and moderated by Michela Ardizzoni (AAIS Critical Race, Diaspora and Migration Caucus, Co-chair) and Mariagrazia De Luca (CRDM Caucus, Co-chair), with the participation of Nicoletta Marini-Maio (AAIS Vice President, Co-convener). The people participating in the conference and filmed in this video have granted publication permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Tavola rotonda virtuale tenuta alla conferenza annuale dell’American Association for Italian Studies, alla Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, USA (18-20 maggio 2023). Il panel, costituito da Geneviève Makaping (Autrice e Attrice), Elia Moutamid (Regista), Graziano Chiscuzzu (Produttore) e Simone Brioni (Autore e Professore di Italiano a Stony Brooks University), ha discusso il processo collaborativo che ha portato alla ideazione e creazione del documentario Maka (2023). Maka ha ottenuto due premi internazionali come miglior documentario (“Integrazione Film Festival” di Bergamo e “Film Only Film Festival”, entrambi nel 2023).
La tavola rotonda è stata organizzata e moderata da Michela Ardizzoni (AAIS Critical Race, Diaspora and Migration Caucus, Co-chair) da Mariagrazia De Luca (CRDM Caucus, Co-chair), con la partecipazione di Nicoletta Marini-Maio (AAIS Vice President, Co-convener). Le persone partecipanti alla conferenza e filmate in questo video hanno rilasciato il permesso alla pubblicazione del video secondo la Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.