And the journey continues

Photo provided by Luca Guardabascio

On Wednesday November 19th, Luca Guardabascio presented his book, "Stones on the Ocean," at Oberlin College in Ohio. On December 4th, he will return to Detroit for another presentation. He plans to present the book in Philadelphia on December 13th and in New York on December 15th. The New York presentation will be sponsored by La Federazione Delle Associazioni Campane in USA.

Guardabascio is also busy shooting a new movie on the Italian American poet, Zach Aiko at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania. Click here to be directed to the official Facebook page of the movie.

Photo provided by Guardabascio

Photo provided by Guardabascio

Stones on the Ocean Presentations

The Flyer of the NYPD event on Oct. 23rd. Courtesy of Luca Guardabascio

This upcoming week, Luca Guardabascio will be very busy presenting his new book, Stones on the Ocean: The story of Giovanni Esposito and Joe Petrosinoi, in Michigan. He will be a speaker at the XIV Week of Italian Language in the World event by Wayne State University on Wednesday Oct. 22nd.
The next day, Thursday Oct. 23rd, Guardabascio will be presenting at the New York Pizza Depot (NYPD) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As quoted by David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos, Guardabascio's book covers a topic that despite its prominence has not been covered a lot: The great Italian migration.

Stones on The Ocean

The cover of Luca Guardabascio's new book, "Stones on The Ocean

Luca Guardabascio's book on the life of Joe Petrosino and Givanni Esposito, two Italians who migrated to the United States, is now available! The story touches on a very important subject, the Italian migration to the USA, and their contribution to the American culture and history. This project has been a long time coming, and you can see the blog post we wrote on this cool project on May 23rd, 2013 by clicking here.

He will presenting the book in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, and New York.

Ciao!

Luca Guardabascio in New York

Luca Guardabascio will be doing a presentation, along with Don Marcello Stanzione, on June 5th at the Italian American Museum at 6:30 PM. Make sure you attend it. Call the number indicated on the flyer to reserve a seat.

Busy... Busy...

Snapshot by Sabine Cherenfant

Dear readers,

Those past few weeks may have kept us away from the blog, but NattyTan and I had the chance to attend Luca Guardabascio's documentary screening in New York on November 21st. We had the chance to view this captivating documentary, and we definitely recommend others to find a way to view it as well. Although it is primarily a religious documentary (precisely catholic), others will still find it exquisite to say the least because of it's modern message and the provocative story of Angela Volpini.
The screening was followed by a heated discussion because the subjects covered in the documentary are indeed prone to generating debates.

Stay tuned for more info on how to view the documentary.

Luca Guardabascio: Dove Posarono i Suoi Piedi Trailer

Here's the link to the trailer of Luca Guardabascio's new documentary: 

http://www.youtube.com/v/HNJc6jkgu0w?autohide=1&version=3&autohide=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=anwL5RxUJOR032NN2j37-g&showinfo=1&autoplay=1

Luca Guardabascio

Luca Guardabascio began his tour in Detroit, where he had a very successful stay. On Oct. 27 he held a lecture on his new book, Padula-New York-Pittsburgh:Emigrazione Sangue Speranza - La storia di Joe Petrosino e del suo migliore amico Giovanni Esposito at the Laurel Manor Banquet and Conference Center in Michigan. The following day, Guardabascio held a screening of his documentary on Angela Volpini at Wayne State University. Click here for more information on those events. Both events were sponsored by the Italian Consulate in Detroit and the Italian Program in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Wayne State University and hosted by the Dante Alighieri Society.
He fell in love with the city because of its sublime nature despite it being in decadence and the wonderful people he met there. He plans to put Detroit in the title on his book on Joe Petrosino and began shooting scenes in this city on Oct. 29.
"The city of detroit needs help to show her power to the world so I wish to help," said Guardabascio.
He will be in Pittsburgh from Nov. 1 to Nov. 14 for lectures and screenings at Robert Morris University and Chatham University. He will have a lecture on Italian Neorealism at Oberlin College on Nov. 19. The 21st, Guardabascio will present his documentary at the Italian American Museum in New York.
Dates for presentations in Philadelphia and Cleveland will soon be announced.

Luca Guardabascio on Facciomo Pace

Photo provided by Luca Guardabascio

Click here to get a chance to see Luca Guardabascio guest starring in the first episode of Facciomo Pace! His segment roughly begins at 35 minutes.

Luca Guardabascio Set to Screen Documentary in The United States

Photo provided by Luca Guardabascio

Luca Guardabascio will be a guest star on the first episode of Facciamo Pace on Rai 2 (Second channel in Italy), a reality show about high school time. It airs TODAY!!!
He is currently working on a book on fairy tales, titled Le Stagioni Delal Fantasia (The Season of Imagination), which should be coming out very soon. He partnered with the visual artist, Eleonora Corrado, for this book.
His other book, Padula-New York-Pittsburgh, regarding the 1873-1980 Italian emigration will be published this Fall. The book is sponsored by Padula Coimart S. P. A., a big production company located in Padula.
This October, Guardabascio will be touring the United States to screen his documentary, Dove Posarono I Suoi Piedi, relating the story of Angela Volpini and the Virgin Mary. He will give lectures at Robert Morris University, Chatham University and Lake Eire College. He will be touring in Philadelphia, New York, Washington and possibly Richmond.

More Info on Luca Guardabascio's New Movie

Luca Guardabascio with Don Marcello Stanzione

On June 2nd, Luca Guardabascio will be presenting his new movie project to the International Angel Meeting in Campagna (SA) organized by Don Marcello Stanzione.

"I think all heroes and everyone who fought to have justice, freedom and legality are angels like Joe Petrosino," said Guardabascio. 

Luca Guardabascio Set to Work on A New Movie

Padula (Italy)

Luca Guardabascio is currently working on a movie, which he will be directing. It will be produced by Coimar S. P. A., a big production company in Padula, a commune in Salerno, Italy. This movie will be based on his upcoming book, which will be published by Historica Edizioni and the youngest editor in Italy, Francesco Giubilei, described as "a good friend with an open mind" by Guardabascio.
The working title of the movie is Padula-New York- Pittsburgh: Emigrazione Sangue Speranza (Padula-New York-Pittsburgh : Emigration Blood and Hope) and the subtitle is La storia di Joe Petrosino e del suo migliore amico Giovanni Esposito (The story of Joe Petrosino and his best friend Giovanni).

Luca Guardabascio, Pino D'aloia (actor) and Francesco Giubilei

"The story [will depict] the strong friendship of Giuseppe (Joe) Petrosino and Giovanni Esposito, growing up in Italy in Padula near the Certosa (the biggest monastery in Europe) with their friends until they decide to leave Italy to go to the United States to have a better life," narrated Guardabascio.
Giovanni, who is the first one to migrate to the United States, embarks in a long trip to Ellis Island, also called the island of hope, with this simple promise from Joe: "We will meet you there."
In the United States, he survives through illegal means whereas Joe becomes a New York City police officer and a pioneer in the fight against organized crime.

Nino Melito Petrosino in Joe Petrosino Museum

"This strong brotherhood of the two men will be described through the double face of emigration, and thanks to Petrosino and his honest way of life, Giovanni will understand the sense of his life," recounted Guardabascio.
The movie will mainly focus on the true story of Petrosino and will tell the amazing story of migration from 1860 to 1980.
It will also cover the Italian unification and the earthquake that hit the south of Italy (Irpinia) on Nov. 23, 1980 when a very old Giovanni Esposito comes back to Padula after years of building his life in the United States.
"It will be an important movie about the good Italian emigration in the world that produce true hero like Joe Petrosino a man who fight all his life against the Mafia," Guardabascio quoted.
The movie will also show non-fictional personalities like singer Enrico Caruso and former US president, Theodore Roosevelt.

Luca Guardabascio in Pittsburgh

"It will be a movie about legality, justice, love with some part ironic because the Italians are people who overcome all situations with passion and laugh in a 'Tragicomical' way'," explained Guardabascio. "The emigration will be described to remember all the men and women who built Italy and America in an honest way."
Guardabascio, along with the producers of Coimar S. P. A (Caputo, Cancellaro, Giobbe, LaManna), decided to film most of the movie in Padula as a way to pay tribute to this important and historical little village and the culture of the Italian people.
"The Casa Museo Joe Petrosino is a very important museum that you have to visit once in your lifetime because it is an example of memories against all the Mafias. The house was the original house where Petrosino was born and lived until 12 years old and where he cames back before being killed in Palermo (Sicily)."

Luca Guardabascio and Joe D'Andrea

Parts of the movie will be shot in New York thanks to different associations like the Lt. det. Joseph Petrosino Ass. Of America inc. and l’Associazione Internazionale Joe Petrosino, handled by his nephew, Nino Melito Petrosino.
Guardabascio also wants to shoot parts of the movie in Pittsburgh, where he was a Rooney Scholar at Robert Morris University in 2011.
"Part of my heart is there," confessed Guardabascio. "The people are nice, and I work with them on many projects, which was great."
"There are professors and filmmakers like Michael Di Lauro who helped me grow in my career. I love Professor Joe D’Andrea, the one who gave me suggestions with his emigration story to write this story."

Luca Guardabascio in Pittsburgh

Guardabascio would love to make use of some RMU students and professors for the movie, including Di Lauro, John Radamacher, Jim Vincent, Lutz Bacher, John Lawson and Helene Vanhala. He would also love to work with Joe Hale, Ray Zapparoni and Steve Troutman because of their technical talents.
He described the RMU president, Greg Dell'Omo as a "super nice friend who loves Italy and who is another good example of the wonderful things Italian American people do in the United States."
"I would also like to collaborate with American artist like George Nista and teachers like Paola Basile, Ida Mansourian and Viviana Altieri of Mondo Italiano, people who can give me more input to film my movie."
"But one of my best friend and part of my crew is Lisa Nutt, a very strong woman who will be translating my book in English and Spanish and who will be the best production assistant on set I've ever had in my life."
His goal is to go back to RMU next fall, give lectures on the topic, show his next documentary and try to organize the movie in the best way with the people he considered his best friend.
He is currently working on the screenplay along with Stefano Stanzione and Giovanni Cancellaro. Luigi Spagnol, the "maestro," is supervising the project. They are currently holding a contest and looking for a female writer who can collaborate and give the screenplay the right touch it needs.
Guardabascio mentioned that the book will be ready in a couple of months. In addition, in the upcoming weeks, he will be a guess at Cancellaro's hotel, Villa Cosilinum, which has a great view of Padula. This will help foster his imagination for the movie.

All photos are provided by Luca Guardabascio

Romagna Book Festival

Today is the second day of the Romagna Book Festival (April 12, 13 and 14). Luca Guardabascio's book, Johnny Carnage, should be published during this festival.

http://fanfantwins.blogspot.com/2013/02/luca-guardabascio-upcoming-events.html

Luca Guardabascio: Upcoming Events and Projects

This Friday, Luca Guardabascio will be presenting his book, "La Percezione della Morte" (Feeling Death), at noon in a high school in Castellammare Di Stabia, a commune near Napoli. Then, at 7 p.m., Guardabascio will be presenting the second edition of "Another Summer,"in Eboli.
His book, "Johnny Carnage," a historical thriller set in Australia between 1899 and 1922 he co-wrote with Stefano Stanzione, will be published by Historica Edizioni/Il Violino this April 12, 13 and 14 at the Romagna Book Festival.
"[It is] a big event in Cesena... organized by Francesco Giubilei, the youngest editor in Italy," said Guardabascio. "My next step will be to present the Movie 'Angela Volpini: Dove posarono i suoi piedi,' a documentary about the Virgin Mary apparition in Italy at Casanova Staffora (Pavia) from 1947 to 1956 written in cooperation with the author Manuela Orrù."
"But, my masterpiece is Joshua Nathan," He concluded. "My little son is the most important gift I had in my life."
http://fanfantwins.blogspot.com/2012/09/guardabascio-gets-awarded-for-his-book.html

Guardabascio gets awarded for his book

Photo provided by Luca Guardabascio

Luca Guardabascio is praised for his latest book, Ancora Un'estate o Un'estate Ancora, for which he received multiple awards. But, Guardabascio is not stopping here. He is already working on multiple projects, including two documentaries and another book.
"I am editing two documentaries about Christianity," stated Guardabascio. The first one, titled Angela Volpini: Dove Posarono I Suoi Piedi, recounts the story of a young girl whom the virgin Mary appeared to and spoke to to help Italy come out of all of the problem caused by World War II. The virgin Mary told the girl: " I came to teach you the way to be happy on this Earth."
The second documentary recounts the story of Francesca Lancelloti who had the holly spirit inside of her and performed several miracles.
"She came from her little town in Basilicata region, Opido Lucano and went to Rome to help people in the name of God," related Guardabascio.
"We filmed part of the documentary that go on Rai 2 in a special named TG2 dossier called, Saint Michael and Francesca: In the Name of God," he said.
Guardabascio is also working on a horror story with another writer named Stefano Stanzione. The book, Johnny Carnage: The Sadness of the Devil, will be part of a trilogy a
Lastly, Guardabascio will be showing some of his short films in the Palestrina Movie Club Film Festival. There will also be a presentation of his book.

Luca Guardabascio

Photo by Noah Purdy © 2011 noahpurdy.com 

Not too long ago, I met a very kind and extraordinary man walking along the campus of Robert Morris University; his name was Luca Guardabascio, and he was one of the visiting scholars for the Fall 2011 at this school.

I soon realized that Guardabascio was a very intriguing artist and a very dedicated soul to the Italian cinema. At six years old, Guardabascio published his first collection of short stories- 70 short stories to be exact. 

He always had an interest for eccentric movies, especially The Twilight Zone. As a matter of fact, Guardabascio formed a new genre for movies, called marron, that he introduced to the Italian cinema.

"Marron is a genre that I build from thriller and film noir," said Guardabascio. 

The first movie that he produced under this genre was Dismophobia, a short story about a man who has fallen in love with a woman who rejected him. The movie is in black and white with a single scene in sepia, and has a very original ending. 

Guardabascio, who is also an actor, took part in many cinematic projects in Italy, such as  Con Rabbia e con Amore and Anime Nera. 

He is also a screenwriter and a novelist. His book, Una Guerra Privata, depicts a friendship between an Israeli and a Palestinian. They both live in Italy under the same roof, and fall in love with the same woman.

In the story, both friends realize that despite the political and ethnic conflict between Israel and Palestine, they are not so distant as people. Nonetheless, falling in love with the same woman has created another type of conflict between the two friends, and at the end of the book, an unlikely resolution is revealed. 

"I'm very interested in other culture," said Guardabascio about the book. 

He wrote another book about the summer of 1983, entitled Ancora Un'estate o un'estate Ancora.
He further explained that it was an important time period because there was a lot of issues that were being raised in world, such as the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). 

"In Italy, with Betino Craxi in charge, the socialist party went into power for the first time," said Guardabascio. "It was a very good period of time. Italy went into G7."

As he mentioned, many other things happened during that time. A girl by the name of Emanuella Orlandi was kidnapped in Vatican and no one knows what happened to her until this day. In addition,  Israel invaded the South of Lebanon, which became the tragic first Lebanon war. 

As a result, the book emphasized on the growing fear among Italians of the world outside of home. The story focuses on a man who kills a shy singer because of jealousy and hides the body in the sea. People begin to speculate that the shy singer is kidnapped.
I have the impression that this is just one aspect of the book as the book seems to incorporate many more. Although I do not speak Italian, this book is definitely something that I would like to read. 

Below are a few links on Guardabascio and his accomplishments.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1029841/
http://books.google.com/books/about/My_own_Una_guerra_privata.html?id=3OWoPAAACAAJ
http://www.ilviolinoedizioni.it/web/quarto-libro/