Museum Cinema / We Were Here - The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, 2024
The finest films on art and culture will be screened, after a short lecture by the Museum’s curators.
Admission to the Museum’s exhibitions is included in the film ticket, during the Museum’s opening hours.
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We Were Here - The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, 2024 | Dir. Fred Kudjo Kuwornu | Italy | French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Dutch with English and Hebrew subtitles | 60 minuets
Introduction: Galit Landau Epstein, Curator for Special Projects
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s director, held via Zoom and conducted in English.
Unveiled at the 60th International Art Exhibition la Biennale Venezia in 2024.
Shot across iconic locations in Europe and Brazil, this documentary challenges the erasures of history that feed nationalist politics in Europe today by recovering the presence of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe. It condenses the lives and stories of notable Africans and how their presence and skills shaped European history and visuals in the Renaissance. Figures include Afro-Hispanic painter Juan de Pareja, who was enslaved by Diego Velázquez and forced to walk the streets holding a portrait that the famous artist made of him, to promote his talents, as well as Isabella d'Este, a major patron of Renaissance art who was also keen on purchasing Black African infants. Combining reenactments and animations with experts' passionate explanations on Renaissance history and society, We Were Here gives a deep and enjoyable journey through an important and understudied aspect of European history and art.
About the artist: Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, Do the Right Films - An artist, filmmaker, educator, and cultural innovator whose work is deeply influenced by his African heritage and explores the complex intersections of identity, race, and historical representation. He has directed several documentary films, including Inside Buffalo (2010), focusing on African American soldiers in World War II, 18 Ius Soli (2012), exploring the citizenship rights of second-generation immigrants in Italy, and Blaxploitalian (2016), examining Black representation in Italian cinema from 1915 to the present day.