MILAN – Visual memory: the life of Italian Jews in black and white

In many Italian homes, old film reels and amateur footage are tucked away in attics or cellars. These snapshots of everyday life, often forgotten, are not documentaries, but they help understand the transformations of the 20th century. Building on this idea, the project “Mi Ricordo – Raccolta nazionale di film di famiglia ” (I remember – National collection of family films) was launched in 2019. Focused on the Jewish world, it resulted from collaboration between various organizations, including the National Film Archive of Ivrea and the Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center (CDEC) Foundation in Milan.
People with old films from Jewish families or communities were invited to contribute their material for collection, digitization, and cataloging. Over the past five years, the CDEC Foundation Archive has collected hundreds of films: 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm reels, as well as VHS and MiniDV tapes.
In conjunction with the European Day of Jewish Culture 2024, a selection of these films will be screened to illustrate how personal perspectives can offer valuable insights into Jewish society. “For instance, the films include depictions of trips to Israel in the 1950s, showcasing a country in the midst of construction and continuous change,” explained Daniela Scala, head of the CDEC photo archive. “The Mi Ricordo project continues,” Scala emphasized, “as does the invitation to submit material.” The public screening is scheduled for September 16 at the Shoah Memorial in Milan.