Film screening ‘Appuntamento ai marinai’ with director Ariam Tekle

The Centre for Pan-African Studies invites you to the screening of the documentary Appuntamento ai Marinai.

"Appuntamento ai Marinai" is a documentary that delves into the experiences of second-generation Eritreans born and/or raised in Milan during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Public debates on the experiences of the second generations in Italy have only recently started to emerge, with the underlying assumption that ‘this’ is a new phenomenon. Yet, some of the first cohorts of what we now refer to as ‘Afro-Italians’, have been living in Italy since the late 1970s.  

Appuntamento ai Marinai, brings to light what it was like for children of African migrants to grow up in Milan at a time where migrants we afforded fewer rights, and Eritreans specifically, were not even recognised as asylum seekers despite fleeing a war-torn country. What did it mean to grow up as a Black child in Italy in the ‘80s? Can Black people be Italian?

The film unfolds in chapters focusing on themes like integration, citizenship, music, and identity, exploring how the main characters of the documentary navigated Italian society at the time. It provides insights into the complexities of immigrant experiences and the evolving dynamics of identity and belonging in Italy.  

The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with director Ariam Tekle moderated by Dr Mikal Woldu (SOAS).  

About the speaker

Ariam Tekle is a producer, podcaster, and emerging director. She fosters a particular interest in foreign policy and studies on the diaspora. In 2017 she directed 'Appuntamento ai Marinai', a documentary about Eritrean Second Generations in Milan. In the last couple of years, she focused on the production of Blackcoffee_pdc, a podcast she co-created with Emmanuelle Maréchal. 

The project is an archive of interviews and conversations with people from the African diaspora whose work broadens the narrative around Black communities in Italy. Ariam is also the founder of the Blackn[è]ss Fest, a three-day festival designed to explore, celebrate and connect the African diaspora in Italy.

Chair: Dr Mikal Woldu