by Danielle Maus
Danielle is in her last semester at Wayne State University and will be graduating with degrees in Global Studies, Italian, and Film. Besides working as an translator-intern for the Abruzzo Film Commission, she holds a full time job as producer for a media and entertainment production company.
It’s not often that a perfect opportunity is offered to you, but in my case, it seems like one was.
The Abruzzo Film Commission partnered with Wayne State University students from Detroit, Michigan for the summer semester of 2021. Wayne State students from the Italian program, like myself, were given the opportunity to translate articles from the film commission’s website for English readers wanting access to information about film productions and available production locations. The project was extremely focused and surprisingly fit my college niche.
I studied both Film and Italian in college.
Neither subjects were ones that I went into college knowing I wanted to study, yet I fell in love with studying both. I developed a deep passion for these topics. I became interested in film after taking a class in which our assignments were to watch and analyze the techniques behind making movies. My interest in Italian began when my advisor suggested that I take an Italian language course since I had to study a second language. I did not know in those moments that something really exciting was starting!
I was pleasantly surprised during my studies to find that film and Italian overlap in many ways especially in Detroit, MI. At Wayne State University, there are a number of classes that focus on and reference Italian cinema and how Italian language/culture functions in these films. For example, there is an entire class that studies Italian cinema and the way that the Mafia is depicted in these films versus Hollywood cinema. I even got to email an Italian American filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola, who worked in Hollywood and who had lived in Detroit, MI to ask questions on behalf of my class about his experience making this type of film.
Nearly every person who I have explained what I study has exclaimed that it is quite a unique and specific area to study, but I do not feel so distinctive in this way because there is such a lively community of academics in Detroit who are interested in the exact same thing that I am. I find that fact invigorating and motivating. As well, there are many teachers in Detroit who are energized and passionate about teaching young adults the fascinating culture and history of both of these topics. The opportunity offered by the Abruzzo Film Commission to Wayne State University students is intensively felicitous for a student like myself. It connects my home, Detroit, with a place, Abruzzo, that I long to visit. It allows me to combine my interests flawlessly by writing and exploring film, current news in the film industry, and Italian culture as well as using my native language, English, and my second language, Italian.
The Abruzzo Film Commission is something that I suggest every filmmaker explores.
The opportunities offered to filmmakers around the world are endless. There are extraordinary locations, like Castello di Roccascalegna or Il Gran Sasso, and filmmakers to pursue in Abruzzo. The film commission intends to make those resources known to many. Check out these awesome locations! It seems that Abruzzo is a region in Italy exploding with grand potential for filmmakers and the film industry. I know that I want to be behind that cause since I believe in it so much. This internship opened a door to me that I’m not sure I can close anytime soon!