08/01/2008

We recommend Cristina Comencini’s new film Black and White [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a light comedy on racism and prejudice – a contemporary, Italian Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? – to James Watson, the Nobel prize-winning discoverer of the structure of DNA who last October stirred up a hornet’s nest by stating that black Africans are less intelligent than white Westerners.

Produced by Cattleya and RAI Cinema and to be released this Friday on 250 screens by 01, the film tells the story of a young computer programmer (Fabio Volo) whose wife (Ambra Angiolini) works for an African humanitarian organisation and who falls in love with the beautiful, anti-conformist Senegalese wife (Aïssa Maïga) of an intellectual collaborating with the organisation (Eriq Ebouaney).

"I wanted to play with the prejudices that we all have", said the director. "In the beginning, we thought it was dangerous, difficult and politically incorrect to make a comedy on the subject. All the ‘mixed’ couples I know, from Rwanda, the Congo, Senegal, deal with prejudice with a lot of humour and without tragedy. So we convinced ourselves not to make a dramatic film because it’s impossible to arrive at the truth without a certain light touch".

Actually, the world depicted in the film is that of the most hypocritical bourgeoisie, of embassy cocktail parties, of Africans with 10 credit cards, with only a fleeting glimpse at the world of those truly marginalised because of the colour of their skin. However, the film is "sponsored" by AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation), which seals the good intentions of the filmmaker and her co-screenwriters Giulia Calanda and newcomer Maddalena Ravigli.

Comencini further confirmed that racism continues to exist in the film industry: "We were unable to find sponsors for our two black actors. In all major films, the lead actors are dressed by fashion houses while they had nothing. And yet black women are often used in advertising as an erotic symbol and sexual object".

The evening brought a denial from Marina Marzotto, CEO Propaganda GEM, one of the most active companies in the field of product placement: "It’s not a question of skin colour, but of fame. Unlike in the United States and France, we don’t have any well-known black actors".

(Translated from Italian)