For the first time in Staten Island, New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) presents the Women Filmmakers: Immigrant Stories Screening Series — a free screening series of work by women filmmakers focusing on the immigrant experience throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Join us for this installment titled “NYC Changing Landscape.” Filmmakers will be available for a Q&A and refreshments will be available after the screening.
PROGRAM: NYC Changing Landscape
Saints of Little Italy
Margaret Sclafani (Director)
13:53 mins
One day in my uncle’s basement, I brushed the dust off a collection of 8mm films and the projector he had won at a church bazaar. Watching these films, brought the experiences of my Italian-American family to life even as they shielded their eyes from the blinding floodlights used to record the films. Many of these pictures were filmed on the streets and in the homes of Little Italy in New York City, recording the religious and social functions related to the Church of Our Lady of Loreto, as well as religious processions for the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, patron saint for the town of Bolognetta, where my grandparents had emigrated from Sicily. This film explores the story of the Sicilian immigrant in New York, the creation of a mission church through to today’s processions, and memories of a family and community that is being demolished and forgotten but flickers on in the celluloid images and voices of my father and his brothers. Saints of Little Italy is a love letter to my grandparents and every immigrant family in New York.
Margaret Sclafani grew up in the Washington, DC area. Following her studies in anthropology and film at Bryn Mawr College, Sclafani began her career as post-production coordinator on Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg. Following her work in production, she went into the camera department, working with Gage & Gage Productions and Firelight Media on a number of documentary films for PBS. She worked as producer and director of photography for Parent Earth, a start up company that produced over 100 videos for families about healthy eating. She has continued to work as camera operator and cinematographer on content for the Whitney Museum, the Irish Arts Center, Room 5 Films, the International Peace Institute, and Emmy award-winning Media Factory, among others. She was a recent grant recipient of the Russo Brothers Film Forum and was honored for her short film, Saints of Little Italy. In addition to her work in documentary, Sclafani regularly works on narrative films and comedy series, including her recent work as director of photography on the independent feature film, The Gift.
Portuguese from SoHo
Ana Ventura Miranda (Director)
2016, 59 mins
Portuguese from SoHo tells the story of the Portuguese emigrants that arrived in SoHo after the Second World War, the history of this neighborhood and the city of New York.
Ana Ventura Miranda, born in Portugal, has a career as an actress and producer. After moving to New York in 2006, she worked as a journalist for the Portuguese television, held a position at the Portuguese Mission to the United Nations and also worked for the Sonnabend Gallery. While working as a journalist she maintained her network within the artistic community in New York and developed her skills as a screenwriter and director. In 2011, Miranda founded Arte Institute, a NY based non-profit corporation for the promotion of Portuguese contemporary art in the United States. She has been responsible for the organization of several cultural events in the United States, Portugal, Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Mozambique, South Africa and Angola including: the NY Portuguese Short Film Festival; the Summer Nights Series at Union Square Park; Saramago´s Week in NY; Pessoa in New York; Arte Institute Contemporary Dance at Alvin Ailey; Portuguese Women in the US, the Gilded Cage at MoMA, Arte Institute´s Program at the Iberian Suite Festival by the Kennedy Center, among many other events. In 2015, she was awarded the Prize D. Antonia Ferreira, one of the most prestigious awards for Portuguese Leadership Women.
Date: Monday, June 11, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM
Venue: Richmondtown Library 200 Clarke Avenue, Staten Island NY 10306
FREE
A Special Thanks to City Council Member Joe Borelli
for support of the Cultural Immigrant Initiative.
Richmondtown Library 200 Clarke Avenue Staten Island NY 10306
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NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
