Dante Alighieri Society - Michigan Chapter: Events

Past Events

April 29-May 9, 2010

The Italian Film Festival was a great success. Two new venues were added (Henry Ford Community College and the Macomb Center) to the existing Detroit Film Theatre, Wayne State, and University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) locations. The attendance was up to 1,600 people.

The Italian Film Festival USA brings contemporary Italian films to the U.S., with the goal of providing to the public the opportunity to see films that have not yet and may never be seen locally.The Dante Alighieri Society of Michigan was the proud sponsor of the opening film "BAARÌA" by Giuseppe Tornatore at the Detroit Film Theatre in the Detroit Institute of Arts. Nearly 350 people attended the opening.
The local organizing committee of the film festival will be purchasing selected films on DVD that were screened this year, which will be available for viewing; the DVDs will be under the custody of the Dante, along with the Consul's film collection in our Birmingham office.

Valerio Massimo Manfredi- Italian Author, Historian, and Archeologist, Creates History at Dante Alighieri Society Event
"Even right now we are creating history. History is man's attempt to build a common memory of mankind. Memory becomes identity, and no one can live without identity. Without memory, an individual, a community, or even a nation would become unstable."	Photo Gallery
Professor Manfredi, an international best-selling author, captivated his audience as he spoke of history and the art of storytelling. "History is a long term investment;" explains Manfredi." Its importance is that it is at the base of everything; it is our foundation." The distinguished guest also recited from memory a long passage from Dante, and read captivating passages from his latest novel, “The Ides of March”. Mr. Manfredi has published fifteen books; his trilogy series, “Alexander”, has been translated into twenty-four languages; “The Last Legion”, was made into a film, starring Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley. At the invitation of the Dante Alighieri Society- Michigan Chapter, the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham was Manfredi’s first speaking engagement of his American tour. -Richard Haskin

Festa della Befana 2010
Ann Arbor
The Befana, once again, directed the handle of her magic broom to Ann Arbor, this time to find an assistant. The children could play and enjoy various activities while awaiting her arrival. There were many questions for the Befana! The children wanted to make sure that their relatives in Italy had also received their socks. But before opening the bag, the Befana wanted to start a race to find an assistant.
A drum roll welcomed the two Befanas and three Befanas participated and children overwhelmingly chose the Befana Giovi! With the help of Befana Giovi our dear old Befana distributed stockings filled with Italian delicacies (even Nutella !!!!). It was a nice afternoon together, to celebrate one of the best Italian traditions.