Language students take Italian in hand for an evening with filmmaker Luca Vullo

Italian studies students and professors gathered in an excited group on the fourth floor patio of Beckman Hall at Chapman University on a recent warm evening to hear – or make that, watch – a special guest speaker.

“What is your favorite gesture?” one student called out to documentary filmmaker Luca Vullo.

Vullo thought for a second and responded with a demonstration of his view of the ultimate Italian gesture. He thrust out one open hand, tilted his head and looked directly at his listener with raised eyebrows as if to emphasize an important point.

Then Vullo smiled. This was his kind of teachable moment.

“When I feel the interest, the entertainment and good vibrations around me from the audience, it’s a (confirmation) that I’m doing well for me and for my country like a cultural ambassador,” Vullo said.

Indeed, there were good vibrations in the audience that night. Because it was La Serata, which roughly translates to mean an evening get together. Chapman’s monthly La Serata gatherings are an opportunity for students studying Italian to dive into the language and culture. Organized by the Italian Studies Program, the La Serata program brings a bit of Italy to campus through unique activities.

“We try to create immersion as much as possible,” says Federico Pacchioni, Ph.D., associate professor and the Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco Chair in Italian. “We’re not in Italy, but we try to re-create here, the cultural environment.”

Programming falls into one of two categories. There are cultural lectures and talks. And there are linguistically focused evenings, such as October’s event with Vullo. On this particular night, the filmmaker gave a captivating presentation on the use of gestures in Italy.  Vullo is originally from Caltanissetta, Italy, who released a documentary in 2011 about the non-verbal gestures and body language of his native country.

“In my opinion you can’t understand our mentality without the understanding of gestures and facial expressions,” Vullo said. Moreover, one of the important aspects of this is that the study of these gestures provides “a great intercultural exchange.”

The presentation was a fun way to not only enlighten the students, but also engage them in the concept and culture.  “It was really interesting to see the variety of movements that he demonstrated,” said Mark Peng ’17, vocal performance major and Italian studies minor.  “Like he (Vullo) said, Italians are a lot more theatrical with their gestures and expressions, and it was fun learning all the intricacies and variations of gestures to mean different things,” Peng recalled.

Pacchioni agreed, saying “We went to another level through non-verbal communication.”

The next  La Serata will be Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m., or you can check out the Italian Studies blog for upcoming events.

Photo at top: Filmmaker Luca Vullo displays an expressive photo of himself during a recent La Serata meeting at Chapman University.