Introduction - one week before departure

Hello there!

Next Monday I'm flying to Italy with mum Silvana Nero, along with Gina Polito, Silvana Toia (co-authors) and Emilia Toia (co-author and graphic designer), to promote their book Sempre Con Te/ Always with You in Calabria (located on the ball of Italy's foot). It was published last year and has been well received along the Northern Beaches, Sydney (including being the winner of a National Trust of Australia (NSW) Energy Australia Heritage Award 2010. Category: Interpretation and Presentation - Community Group). In a nutshell the book focuses on nine women (including my grandmother Maria Nero) from the periods of the 1920s-1970s who all had similar migration stories from Italy to Australia; they fell in love, their husbands and boyfriends left for Australia, landed in the Northern Beaches and began to set up a new life here. After many years of separation the women, some with proxy marriages, embarked here by themselves via ship and finally reunited with their loves in a new land. We are going to journey around Calabria to promote the second edition of the book, taking the stories of these women to their home towns and sharing with those who stayed behind their journeys and what became of them in Australia. 

the Oceania liner, 1951

The book and this journey to Italy is the inspiration for this documentary film. 

As it is a documentary, the film can only be what is thrown at me (a.k.a life), but to start I have three main points I'd like to focus on:

1. My pilgrimage to my Italian roots and the group's journey around Calabria with the book.
2. An exploration of two women from the book: Maria Nero (my grandmother) and Maria Mastrioanni and their migrant stories of the separation, journey and reunion. A reflection on my connection to them being the age of 21, and travelling to Italy, the same age as they were when they left Italy for Australia
3. A look at contemporary attitudes and influences on communication and long distance relationships in comparison to those of the fifties, how we have changed, what remains and the searching for our place in the world amidst this.

Passport of Rosina Roperti, a migrant to the Northern Beaches, Sydney, 1950s

The film's budget is practically $0, everything is coming from my own pocket right now, but Lucy (co-producer) and I are looking into funding and hopefully sponsorship down the track. The camera I'm using is a Sony mini DV, just a regular 'home movie' video camera, and the mic is lent to me for use of this trip by the very kind filmmakers Dale and Susan Paget. 

I'm going for three weeks and staying in Calabria for ten nights. I'm taking time off Uni so things are a little hectic right now! I'll be doing a great juggling act of keeping my study up to date. I plan to keep this blog updated with the progress of the film while in Italy and upon return in Sydney right up until the end product and distribution. I look forward to having you on board with me in this filmmaking journey, always willing to hear your comments, suggestions and thoughts! 

Ci vediamo a presto! 

- Danielle.