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Here is the opinion of the director of the Primo Levi Center Natalia Indrimi . Should a documentary that recounts the "gestures" of 50 Italian fascist soldiers who saved a few thousands Jews to escape Fascist persecution be screened in Italian schools?

“Who, or more precisely, what is an Italian American? To some self-appointed arbiters of italianità, the answer is: Roman Catholic, conservative, and indisputably heterosexual.” If we have learned anything from the ongoing scrutiny of the Italian-American “experience” it is that said experience is any thing but singular. Italian-American histories and cultures are diverse, multifaceted, and ever open to new interpretations and revisions.

The Director of “Pane Amaro” (Bitter Bread), an acclaimed doumentary about the life and history of early Italian immigrats in the U.S., talks about whether sweeping dirt under the rug is the way to deal with undesirable facts. His film touched upon several diffucult topics, including he lynching of thirty-nine Italian immigrants across the United States between 1886 and 1916. “Occasionally you do find some people who, when faced with difficult, uneasy subjects, react by closing their eyes; they prefer not to know about them and even try to prevent you from talking about them. They use a metaphor, you know, they say that we shouldn’t ‘wash our dirty laundry in public’. And I think it doesn’t advance the conversation. I do believe that we need to explore difficult issues such as this."

On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of CUNY has organized the screening of two movies: "50 ITALIANI. The men who Saved 50,000 Jewish Lives" and "Memories of Anna Frank" (January 20, 11:30 am and 6:00 pm). The two events are part of the 4th edition of Rai Fiction Week (January 19-22, 2010)