Nazareth's Casa Italiana Brings Italian Film Maker to Rochester, Jan. 29-30

ROCHESTER, NY (01/20/2014)(readMedia)-- Nazareth College's Casa Italiana is teaming up with Italian Cultural Institute in New York City and the University of Rochester's Modern Languages and Cultures to bring film director Fred Kuwornu to Rochester for screenings of his films Inside Buffalo and 18 IUS Soli on January 29 and January 30. Both screenings are free and open to the public and take place from 6-8 p.m. For more information, contact the Nazareth College Casa Italiana a (585) 389-2468.

Wednesday, January 29

University of Rochester: Screening of Inside Buffalo at the River Campus-Lattimore 201 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Inside Buffalo tells the history of the 92nd "Buffalo Soldiers" Infantry Division, the first African American combat unit to fight in World War II.

This documentary was produced after director Fred Kuwornu's work as a production assistant on Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna, the first feature-length film to tell the story of the Buffalo Soldiers. For Italians who lived through the war, the story of the Buffalo Soldiers is one of true American heroism. Q&A to follow with the director. This event is sponsored by U of R's Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, the Program of Film and Media Studies and the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-America Studies.

Thursday, January 30

Nazareth College: Screening of 18 IUS Soli at the Shults Center Forum, (Nazareth College, 4245 East Ave., Rochester, NY 14618) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The grassroots documentary tells the stories of 18 young people born and raised in Italy whose parents are originally from African, Asian, and Latin American countries. They are children of immigrants, they go to school in Italy, and speak the language and dialects. They have never visited their parents' native countries, nor do they speak their parents' language, but they are not recognized as Italian citizens. 18 IUS Soli not only examines multiculturalism in Italy, but also specifically looks at questions of citizenship, an issue that resonates with the rise of immigrant youth activism in the United States. Q&A to follow with the director. This event is sponsored by Nazareth's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, International Studies, Center for International Education, Center for Public History, Veteran's Affairs, the Institute for Pluralism, Casa Hispana, French House and Casa Italiana.

Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, born and raised in Italy, is an Italian-Ghanaian activist-producer-writer-director. He has produced several documentaries with his production company, Struggle Filmworks working alongside talents such as Derek Luke (Captain America; Notorius; Catch a Fire; Lions for Lambs); Laz Alonso (Jumping the Broom, Avatar, Fast and Furious ); Omar Benson Miller (CSI Miami, 8 Mile). Fred Kuwornu founded the non-profit organization Diversity Italia promoting the importance of racial and ethnic diversity in Italy and Europe using film and other arts as tools for building a more inclusive society. His next project it's " '64," a film about the U.S. Civil Rights movement.