Table of Contents
Films
Piazza Petawawa: The Paradox, directed by Rino Noto and produced by Bob Sacco, National President of the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association (CIBPA), tells the stories and harsh realities of the internment of Italian Canadians during World War II. It presents personal accounts through archival footage and historical contextualization
A Troublesome Woman, is produced by Media Monkey Productions: Writer/Director Micol Marotti, Director of Animation Jeff Halligan. The film is based on true accounts of Italian Canadian internee experiences. It weaves multiple storylines around the central figure of Mario Duliani, a former journalist, considered the ‘father’ of the Montreal theatre, who becomes one of the most controversial figures in the Italian Canadian community after he authors the only account of life in the internment camps.
Books
BEYOND BARBED WIRE: ESSAYS ON THE INTERNMENT OF ITALIAN CANADIANS
Edited by Licia Canton, Domenic Cusmano, Michael Mirolla, Jim Zucchero
Toronto: Guernica, 2012
Featuring essays ranging from oral history and case studies to philosophical reflections and literary analysis, this volume is a thorough examination of the internment of Italian Canadians during World War II. Twenty essays by contributors from across Canada shine a light on events that profoundly affected the Italian Canadian community. This volume marks the passage of Italian Canadians from former victims of state authority to engaged agents of social change. Beyond Barbed Wire looks back so that we can all move forward.
Websites
Association of Italian Canadian Writers
The Association of Italian Canadian Writers (AICW) produced a series of articles in Accenti Magazine as well as the anthology, Behind Barbed Wire: Creative Works on the Internment of Italian Canadians. A second anthology, Beyond Barbed Wire: Essays on the Internment of Italian Canadians, was co-published with Columbus Centre of Toronto. Both were edited by Licia Canton, Domenic Cusmano, Michael Mirolla and Jim Zucchero.
These publications raise awareness about the complex issues surrounding the internment of Italian-Canadians during World War II by examining the internment and its aftermath from a wide range of perspectives.
Italian Cultural Centre Society
The Italian Cultural Centre Society (ICC) in Vancouver, BC created a project entitled A Question of Loyalty, which recognized and commemorated the experiences of those affected by the internment of Italian Canadians in British Columbia during World War II.
The project included a play (Fresco, written by Lucia Frangione in collaboration with the BellaLuna Ensemble) a book (Injustice Served, the story of BC’s WWII Italian Enemy Aliens by Ray Culos), and an exhibition at the Italian Cultural Centre (Beyond the Barbed Wire: Experiences of Italian Canadians in WWII).
James Lorimer & Company Ltd.
James Lorimer & Company Ltd. has published another book in its series of non-fiction books for young readers. Entitled Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Italian Canadian Internment in the Second World War by Pamela Hickman and Jean Smith Cavalluzzo, the book uses historical photographs, paintings, documents, and first-person narratives to offer a full account of this little-known episode in Canadian history.
A teacher resource guide with lesson plans and suggested learning activities is available for this book. It can be downloaded free from the publisher’s website. The Righting Canada’s Wrongs Resource Guide was prepared with the help of CHRP funding.
Media Monkey Productions
A Troublesome Woman is a short animated film and part of the ICI multimedia project that reveals the stories of some of the 600 Italian Canadians who were labeled ‘enemy aliens’ and arrested during RCMP raids on June 10, 1940. Using a unique blend of powerful first-person accounts, rare archival materials, stop action and 2D animation, this short film and website uncovers the dramatic events that led a country known for its promotion and protection of human rights, to violate some of its citizen’s most basic civil liberties.
Shadowpath Theatre Productions
Shadowpath Theatre Productions, a professional theatre company and registered not-for-profit organization, used the stage to increase awareness of the internment of Italian Canadians during World War II. The play Paradise by the River, written by Canadian playwright Vittorio Rossi, toured in 2010 after its debut in Vaughan, Ontario in 2008.
To see coverage of the production and rehearsal footage, visit the Shadowpath YouTube page.
