The Italians of Montreal, 1969 (16mm positive, scan 2K/Sound)

Location: Montreal, Canada Quebec, Kanada Creator: Luciano Martinengo Canada is one of the countries where there is a massive emigration of Italian workers. Starting from this finding, the documentary addresses the problem of what can now be considered the “Italian minority” living in Montreal. The filming of the documentary therefore shows places, situations that denote the permanence of traditional patterns and behaviors of the land of origin: bars with Italian names, frequented by Venetian workers; audience present at the stadium during a football match; a market on the street; life in the suburbs of Montreal; a church mass; a wedding reception. But alongside all this, the film highlights the difficulties, problems and ways in which the “Italian minority” fits into Canadian society; the question of bilingualism, due to the presence of French and English in Quebec; job prospects, especially with regard to young people and various types of activities; the dangers of conformism, accentuated by the merger of backward and conservative elements of the company of origin and that of the new country. 01. Inq various and pp of Italian immigrants gathered at Caffè Italia to listen to the results of football matches 02. Interviews of some Venetian immigrants on life in Canada 03. Advertising of Chinotto, photography by Fausto Coppi and Nino Benvenuti hanging on the walls 04. People at the edge of a suburban football field attend a match 05. PP of a young son of immigrants 06. Interview (in English) with two daughters of Italian immigrants 07. Children play in snow-covered alleys; two cops on horseback; young people sitting on a staircase 08. Interviews with an Italian-Canadian boy and girl 09. A Canadian Italian family at the table; you eat pasta and discuss in English and French; inq of teenage daughters and girls, grandmother 10. Interviews with family members 11. Views of Montreal's Italian Quarter; Shops Signs 12. Interviews with immigrants about life in Quebec 13. Interior: inq of families in their apartments 14. People on escalators, underground station and street 15. Interviews on the issue of ethnic differences in Quebec 16. Interview with a worker of Tuscan origin and his Franco Canadian wife 17. Views of Montreal's skyscrapers and palaces 18. The family of Tuscan origin discusses at the table, interview with his son, a teenage boy 19. Interview with a lady from Novara and her English husband 20. People shopping at the market; children and adults in the streets of the Italian quarter 21. Pp of a Canadian Italo ragazo and a man on the phone 22. People on the street, students 23. A Canadian bishop talks about the role of the church among immigrants; facade of the archbishop 24. Coffee Italy: customers, barista prerara coffee, various pp of young students 25. Views of the suburb of St. Léonard 26. Interviews with two women on the problem of language teaching in primary school 27. Children get on the school bus; interview with the director of an English-speaking private school; children play in the street 28. Interviews with Italian children; language lesson in an elementary school; children sing the Canadian national anthem. Children go out and get on the school bus 29. Interview (in French) with an Italian immigrant 30. Interview with a young French-speaking Italian on the independence of Quebec 31. Interview with a young English-speaking immigrant separatist 32. An alpine choir 33. People at the market, interviews 34. Catholic Mass; songs; communion 35. People in the streets in the neighborhood on Sunday morning; inq of first pages of Italian weekly 36. Inq of women at work in a packaging factory; immigrants who iron and machine sew singing Italian songs, interviews with workers 37. An airplane lands; passengers descend; embrace family members; the airport, room car on the highway and the city 38. Interior of a barber shop: the barber cuts hair to customers and discusses with them 39. Immigrants play billiards in the premises of the Sports Bar 40. Inq various of a marriage between immigrants of Sicilian origin: the bride and groom kiss; the guests, the wedding banquet, the group photographs with the bride and groom, the jokes, the dances, the orchestrina playing, interview with accordionist and an old lady; inq of cooks in the kitchen 41. The cook groceries at the supermarket, interviews 42. Interview with an Italian immigrant doctor, doctors, nurses and inpatient patients in a pediatrics department 43. Interview with an elderly immigrant business manager 44. A family party for a first communion;