Filming of "Musical Journeys with the Black Madonna"

Alessandra Belloni is organizing this fundraiser.

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Join us in supporting our film: "Healing Musical Journeys with the Black Madonna in Southern Italy – written and co-directed by Alessandra Belloni

Director Francesco Piccolo – Camera Daniele Magoni & Francesco Piccolo

A documentary based on the best-selling book Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna (Inner Traditions | Bear and Company, 2019) by award-winning singer, percussionist, teacher and author Alessandra Belloni and introduced by Rev. dr. Matthew Fox. Score by Alessandra Belloni and Academy Award nominated composer John La Barbera.

Take a mystical journey of initiation, transformation, and empowerment with award-winning musician and author Alessandra Belloni as she unveils the secret healing powers of the musical traditions of the Black Madonna in Southern Italy. In footage never before seen outside of Italy, the film immerses viewers in a world of ritual and magic, where ecstatic devotional music and dance powerfully transform and heal the heart and soul, throughout the beautiful land once known as Magna Grecia.

SYNOPSIS: In this 50-minute documentary, we will follow Belloni’s summer pilgrimages and workshops of ritual drumming and dance featuring authentic tarantella and tammurriata in the regions of Sicily, Campania, and Calabria.

The documentary will feature interviews with local devotees, and will witness how Belloni’s work transforms her students as they come face to face with the Great Mother at Her breathtaking sacred and devotional sites throughout Southern Italy.

Belloni guides us on this pilgrimage, teaching chants, drum rhythms, and dances. She also introduces expert demonstrations from local master folk practitioners who are dedicated to the preservation and celebration of the Black Madonnas’ ancient devotional healing ritual music, dance, and local styles of tarantellas.

Through footage of ancient rituals never seen outside of Italy, we will reveal the shamanic healing traditions of the Black Madonna that are still alive today, and just as powerful as they were millennia ago. Together, we dance and drum at the sacred sites of the Black Madonnas known in Italian folk tradition as “the Seven Sisters.” Like the Pleiades and the Sicilian Islands Eolie, each of these seven sisters is connected to one of the Goddesses of the ancient world:

● Isis, the great Black mother goddess of magic and healing

● Venus and Aphrodite, the goddesses of love the sea

● Cybele, the great Anatolian mother goddess

● Demeter and Persephone, the mother and daughter goddesses who define the seasons

● Diana and Artemis, the goddesses of the moon

The camera will be an intimate observer throughout the process. It will be close, breathing and dancing with the pilgrims, as though the viewer is part of the journey.

These pilgrimages are a full immersion into the ancient drumming traditions and devotional chants in Honor of the Black Madonna, which can only be truly experienced in the sacred mountains and healing waters of the Mother Land. This powerful journey will introduce and transport audiences to a time and place where an unbroken and ancient tradition continues today, with folk music, processions, devotional drumming, and dance.

• MOUNT ETNA: A Healing trance dance of the Pizzica ritual — drumming and singing on the volcano itself! This portion has already been filmed on June 29, the feast day of the Tarantati, as we explored the explored the energy of the active volcano and the healing power of its Black Mother Earth Soil. The drumming resonated with the sound of the Mamma Etna as she was preparing to erupt the following day!

• SOMMA VESUVIANA: A visit to the spectacular mountain of Somma Vesuviana, to practice the drumming and dance of the Black Madonna Dell’Avvocata, and meet the master of this tradition: Isodoro and La Paranza dei Tramonti. At their farm and tavern, we will have an authentic Neapolitan pagan feast with drumming, dance, food, and wine!

• FOLK SINGER BIAGINO: One of Campania’s best folk singers of the devotional chants for the Black Madonna, will sing and play the powerful tammurriata on the site of an ancient temple to the goddess Cybele, protector of the gay and transgender and LGBTQ+ movement.

• MADONNA DELLA LIBERA: Also known as “Brunettella” (Little Dark One), Our Lady of Freedom in Moiano has direct origins to the Egyptian Goddess Isis, as that area was an Egyptian settlement with a widespread worship of Isis. La Madonna della Libera is known for freeing people from darkness, addictions, fear, and contagious disease. Her statue seems to come alive as local musicians and devotees sing haunting traditional chants in her honor.

• GODDESS ISIS & BLACK MADONNA: Dr. Armando Mei, an Egyptologist, Archaeologist, and host on the GAIA Network, will give a special lecture about the connection between the Black Madonna and the Egyptian Goddess Isis.

• INTERVIEWS WITH ALESSANDRA BELLONI & NANDO CITARELLA: Alessandra Belloni is an award-winning percussionist, singer, actress, teacher, and author, a native of Rome who has traveled Italy extensively, researching and practicing the lord and traditions of the Black Madonna. She will take you inside the heart of this land, give you an authentic, local experience. She was also featured in the PBS series Dream Of Italy, together with Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei. Alessandra will be joined by Nando Citarella, internationally-renowned Neapolitan folk musician, classical singer, and percussionist teacher. Alessandra’s long-time collaborator and friend, eh is one the most important and well-known figures in the revival of Southern Italian folk music.

WHY WE NEED FUNDING:

We are happy to have received the initial grant from CASA ITALIANA ZERILLI MARIMO, at New York University.

However, we need to match these funds with at least $8,000.00 to $10,000 to pay all production expenses, technical crew, and the filmmakers Francesco Piccolo and Daniele Magoni, This will cover:

● Filming over 12 days July & August 2024 $8,500.00

● Editing and post production 4,000.00

(including equipment — Canon R5 or R10,

Canon Lens, Tripod, LED panel, lavalier

Sennheiser, recorder Tascam Dr10 or

Zoom H4N)

● Travel and accommodations 2,500.00

● Producer’s fee 5,000.00

TOTAL: $ 20,000.00

This amount is expected to also cover:

● POST PRODUCTION - marketing and public relations personnel to promote the showing of the film in New York — at venues such as NYU Casa Italiana, the Cathedral of St John the Divine, the Italian American Museum, and the Italian Charities of America, as well as UCSB & Pacifica University in California;

● and FILM FESTIVALS SUBMISSIONS, in the United States and around the world, at $ 50 per submission.

FROM THE AUTHOR ALESSANDRA BELLONI

Dear friends:

I am proud to announce that after the success of our short documentary filmed last summer in Sicily, Black Madonna Pilgrimage and Summer Solstice Celebration in Sicily, directed by Sicilian Film maker Francesco Piccolo, CASA ITALIANA ZERILLI MARIMO at New York University has awarded us a small grant to film a longer documentary this summer, both in the regions of Sicily and Campania during our unique pilgrimages and workshops in stunning locations, joined by students from all over the world.

My intention is to bring to life the authentic rituals in the South of Italy, and show how the Black Madonna is still alive today. The music will bring the audience to remote areas where she has been worshipped for thousands of years, with ritual drumming, haunting chants, and sensual trance dances with deep African roots. As a healer and musician, I have dedicated my life to bringing the power of this spiritual rhythm to women around the world.

The Black Madonna represents the Earth Mother as a living being. Like the earth’s womb, women’s wombs have often been broken. I strongly believe that in this time of turmoil and paradigm shifts, there is a great need for a compelling documentary with a strong message about the Black Madonna. We live in a dangerous time where both women and men need to connect the true knowledge and healing aspect of the Divine Feminine.

ABOUT THE BLACK MADONNA CENTER :

THE CENTER FOR THE BLACK MADONNA is an online and in-person educational space, to honor the ancestral lineages of Southern Italy, centering on the devotion to the Black Madonna that still thrives there. We teach, perform, and revive interest in studying the musical traditions of these regions, mainly for global Italians and their descendants. We offer online lectures and live sessions featuring members of our group, I Giullari Di Piazza, as well as intensive retreats in Southern Italy. Our vision is to spread and keep alive these healing & folkloric traditions from Southern Italy as far and wide as we can, both live and online. This also follows the vision of our newly reformed Board of Directors.

We hope you can help us, the Black Madonna Center and I Giullari di Piazza continue to achieve this important goal, a milestone for the preservation of Southern Italian Culture and folkloric traditions.

www.alessandrabelloni.com

If you need a tax deduction this is a good cause! Donate today and ask others to do so as well. Thank you!

WHY THIS DOCUMENTARY IS IMPORTANT:

• Strong Cultural and Historical Foundation: The project is rooted in rich cultural and historical contexts, exploring the significance of the Black Madonna in Southern Italian culture and spirituality. This provides depth and authenticity to the content.

• Unique Perspective: The focus on the Black Madonna offers a fresh and unique angle, differentiating it from other travel or historical documentaries about Italy.

• Personal and Engaging Narrative: Alessandra Belloni's personal journey and expertise provide an engaging narrative thread, making the content relatable and immersive.

• Visual and Musical Richness: The mention of “footage never seen outside of Italy,” and the involvement of an Academy Award-nominated composer, promise a feast for the senses, both visually and musically.

• Relevance to Contemporary Issues: Linking the themes of the documentary to current social movements, adds a layer of contemporary relevance and could attract a broader audience.

• Educational Value: The series has the potential to educate audiences about lesser-known historical and cultural narratives, fostering appreciation and understanding.

From the series DREAM OF ITALY, Episode 6: THE BLACK MADNNA & MARISA TOMEI featuring Black Madonna expert Alessandra Belloni dedicated to the Black Madonna sacred sites in Southern Italy and the powerful musical and drumming rituals,

https://www.pbs.org/video/the-black-madonna-with-marisa-tomei-oACFDQ/