Being Italian? Two Events on Cinema and Italian
Heritage
CHRIST IN
CONCRETE
35mm screening
Saturday, December 20th at 12 pm
In Person: Marc Fasanella (son of Di
Donato’s lifelong friend, the artist and activist Ralph Fasanella), Fred Gardaphé (curator of The Collected Stories of Pietro di Donato),
and Loredana Polezzi (Di Donato
scholar and D’Amato Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies at Stony
Brook University)
Free | RSVP Required
In Christ in Concrete, blacklisted director
Edward Dmytryk delivers a searing and poetic portrait of working-class
struggle, adapted from Pietro Di Donato’s acclaimed novel. The film
follows Geremio, a proud Italian American bricklayer in 1930s New York, whose
faith and humanity are tested amid brutal labor conditions and the crushing
weight of poverty. Told with striking realism and spiritual intensity, Christ
in Concrete stands as a powerful meditation on sacrifice, dignity, and the
soul of the immigrant experience. Di Donato, who lived in Northport and Setauket,
captured the struggles and resilience of Italian-American laborers in the early
20th century. His work remains a cornerstone in the cultural memory of
Italian-American life. (USA, 1949, 114 mins, NR, English | Dir. Edward
Dmytryk)
These two free events (also Maka on Saturday, December13 at 12 pm) explore the complex legacy of Italian mobilities and the
changing meaning of ‘Italianness’, both in Italy and on Long Island. Through
cinematic storytelling, they trace narratives of migration, labor, and identity
across generations, illuminating how movement shapes experiences of
citizenship, ethnicity, and belonging.
Together, Maka and Christ in
Concrete offer a compelling lens through which to examine the
intertwined histories of departures and arrivals, and the evolving meanings of
‘home’. They invite reflection on the enduring impact of migration on local
communities like Huntington, and on the broader Italian diaspora in the
USA.
By exploring new and old Italian migrations, to and from
Italy, the events will also trace the genesis of Dardanelles, a
forthcoming documentary largely set in Huntington, which takes the life and
work of Pietro Di Donato as a departure point for a reflection on
identity, heritage, and the continuing resonance of the Italian diasporic
experience. An exclusive preview of Dardanelles, a collaboration
between Brioni and Moutamid, will be included in the two events, with the
authors discussing the journey that took them from Christ in Concrete
and Maka to this new project.
This work is supported by Long Island Grants for the Arts
through funds provided by the office of the Governor and the New York State
Legislature, and administered by The Huntington Arts Council.
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