PUNCTUATED IDENTITIES IN CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN CINEMA By Vincenza Iadevaia A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letter In Partial Fulfillment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL May 2019 Copyright 2019 by Vincenza Iadevaia ii PUNCTUATED IDENTITIES IN CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN CINEMA by Vincenza Iadevaia This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the candidate's dissertation co­ advisors, Dr. Haria Serra, Department of Languages, Linguistic and Comparative Literature, and Dr. Anthony Guneratne, Department of Communication and Multimedia Studies, and has been approved by all members of the supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letter and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Ilariati~~ Michael J. H ell, Ph.D College D , Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters April I I 2019 Khaled Sobhan, Ph.D. Date Interim Dean, Graduate College iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My parents, in the last 20 years have given help and shelter to many immigrants, who had and still have “un posto a tavola” (“a seat at the table”). For them, starting from the Albanian Adrian and his little son Aenea to many others of which we have lost traces, my mother was and is “mama Lucia.” First and foremost, I have to thank my parents for installing me the desire to look at the other Italy in a different way, with different eyes. The years at Florida Atlantic University have been intensely interesting and productive, as they have strengthened my film interest, and allowed me to develop new points of view. In this beautiful voyage, I met special and enthusiastic mentors Ilaria, Anthony, and Myriam. A very special thank-you goes to each of them. This path would be completely different without them. I thank Myriam Ruthenberg for being a very humble and special Professor, for always sharing her knowledge and cultural thoughts (in primis on Erri De Luca!). Thanks Myriam for supporting me in each step! My sweet advisor Ilaria Serra, the raison d'être for my being at FAU. She is a professor and a woman able to give without measure. She has always been there to share her experiences, but also being open to explore new adventures. Thank to the “Barbiere di Siviglia,” Anthony, who can brilliantly sing, draw, write, give advice even about plants and flowers! Our film conversations have always been deeply engaging, and “fuori dalla norma.” Myriam, Ilaria, Anthony, your advice on both research and my career have been invaluable. iv I express my gratitude to Prof. Adam Bradford. I cannot forget his guidance and great support when I decided to move to Istanbul to start a new path. I am grateful for the administrative excellence he displayed. Thanks are in order to the Dean Michael Horswell, who was the first person I met in Florida and always available, and friendly, as well as Dr. Munson and the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature, my family for almost four years. A very special appreciation goes to Gabrielle Denier, our Ph.D. Program Coordinator. Her patience, loveliness, and professionality have always made me feel at home and secure. Her ability to solve all kinds of issues is remarkable. I will miss her sweet voice and her smile. My time at FAU was made enjoyable in large part due to the friends that became a part of my life. I raise a metaphorical rakı - the Turkish beverage - to Emanuele Pettener, and to Marianna De Tollis, who have always been there to find solutions and have helped with patience and smile. Other special friends have also had also left a mark on my path. My colleagues and friends have all extended their support in different ways, and I gained a lot from them, through their personal and scholarly interactions: Kamela, Stephanie, Jonathan, Viviana and Federico. Special thanks go to a FAU former student Simone Puleo, the one who suggested me to come to FAU. I am also deeply grateful to Hanson Ennai for making me feel as if I were his sister and for his hospitality. My truthful thanks go also to all the filmmakers I encountered during these years, for their sweet way of recounting their stories. Fariborz Kamkari “un figlio della guerra,” whose kindness and great humanity have struck me. I am also indebted to Suranga D. Katugampala, for being ready to answer all my questions, and to Chiara Bove Makiedo. v To the list I wish to add the producer Antonio Augugliaro (Gina Films) for his kindness and time in answering all my questions, as well as Fabrizia Falzetti (Farout Films) for providing me useful information and biographical data. Along the sometimes arduous yet mostly enjoyable path leading to this Ph.D., I encountered other people whose kindness helped me immensely: Laura Rascaroli and Le- onardo De Franceschi were always ready to address my inquires albeit never in person. “Un grazie di cuore” to Prof. Maria Pia Pedani (University Ca’ Foscari, Venice) – “che la terra le sia lieve”- whose incredible knowledge on Ottoman History proved most precious for the chapter on Ferzan Özpetek, and to a wonderful Italianist, Franco Masciandaro, who has believed in me since I arrived in academia. On the Turkish side, a special appreciacion goes to “la turchina” Serra Yılmaz, an extraordinary and lovely actress, who has made and makes my life in Istanbul very spe- cial. Your opinion and suggestions, and all the information related to Ferzan Özpetek’s cinema were very valuable. Te!ekkür ederim Serra’cı"ım! My gratitude also goes to Prof. Murat Güvenç, the Director of the Istanbul Studies Center, for the incredible Doctoral Fellow opportunity there, and to Professor Deniz Bayrakdar (Kadir Has University) not only for her many recomendations of useful literature, but also for shering her insights and critical point of view about migration and transnational cinema. On the USA side, I am grateful to zia Lisa for her support, and to my dear, late zio Tony … wherever you are, I am sure you are singing and smiling. vi I owe a lot to both my families, the Italian and the Turkish one for their love and encouragement. To Francesco and Lucia, my nephew and niece, and their eager curiosity about the world I am living in: Parli Turchese? Thanks to Istanbul where I found my home. No words suffice to say thank to Kadir, whose support has been extraordinary, for tolerating my endless grumpy moods, for his endless patience and his funny joke, to make me laugh. Your joi de vivre was extremely important in this long voyage. Te!ekkürler a!kım! vii ABSTRACT Author: Vincenza Iadevaia Title: Punctuated Identities in Contemporary Italian Cinema Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Ilaria Serra Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2019 At a time of major political disruption in Italy, this dissertation aims to explore the landscape of contemporary Italian Cinema in connection with the nation’s new demographic trends and social configurations. Focusing on a selected, inherently representative group of filmmakers, the current study proposes a new form of film theory that sees the emergence and recognition of multi-ethnic filmmaking in a hitherto largely monocultural context as an indicator of a profound cultural transformation rather than a mere aesthetic tendency. The critical terminology I propose, “punctuated identitties,” document the characteristics of contemporary filmmakers, since they cannot be easily defined under the categories established by previous critical vocabularies. While these multi-ethnic filmmakers are part of a larger trend in European filmmaking as a whole, and hence constitute a case study of the evolution of a particular trend within individual national cinemas, my aim is to show how their punctuated identities complicate and color viii the Italian mediascape, and perhaps add a pluralistic dimension to the most recent chapter in the story of one of the most influential national cinemas. The filmmakers analyzed are selected according to specific elements and not on any categorization as first-and-second-generation immigrants. The present analysis includes two immigrants who have consciously chosen Italy as their homeland (Ferzan Özpetek and Jonas Carpignano), a migrant other who rejects nationality (Laura Halilovic), a political exile who relishes a certain sense of freedom in his Italian sojourn (Fariborz Kamkari), and a naturalized son of immigrants (Suranga Katugampala). All move in a fluid and conceptual space that creates a new path inside the traditional domain of national cinema, establishing the validity of others’s points of views and proving that coexistence can enrich even established and influential art forms. ix DEDICATION To my Turkish delight, Kadir … PUNCTUATED IDENTITIES IN CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN CINEMA LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xv WHERE EVERTHING STARTED ................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 4 Italy Has Changed: The New Film Law ............................................................... 6 How Did We Arrive Here?................................................................................. 16 NEW VOICES IN ITALIAN CINEMA ........................................................................ 22 Accented