African memories of Europe: visual traces of Eritrean presences in 1970s Rome

Abstract

This essay explores the visual traces of Eritrean presence in 1970s Rome, focusing on the documentary film A testimonianza di una condizione – 2000 eritrei a Roma. The film, produced by Federico Bruno, Giovanni Gervasi, Ali Reza Movahed, Paolo Rossato, and Johannes Yemane, is one of the earliest visual documents portraying an African migrant community in Italy. It highlights the experiences of Eritrean migrants, particularly women, who faced exploitation and marginalization while striving for better futures through education and political activism. The film underscores the importance of the 1970s as a foundational period for African migration to Italy, challenging the common narrative that significant African migration began in the 1990s. It also emphasizes the role of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) in organizing and empowering the Eritrean diaspora in Rome in that period. By examining this film, the essay aims to reframe Italian collective memory and identity, incorporating African perspectives and experiences. This approach not only enriches the understanding of Italy’s social and cultural history but also calls for further research into the visual archives of non-European filmmakers who documented their experiences in Italy.