With his experimental short film, I AM YOU, Italian-American actor and director Nick Gabriel opens an interdisciplinary pathway exploring the relationship between memory and identity and the therapeutic potential of performance in connection with autobiography. Motivated by his grandfather's capitulation to devastating memory loss brought on by Alzheimer's Disease, Professor Gabriel weaves a conversation with an older version of himself.
Memory loss interventions typically entail orientation screenings and the improvement of cognitive functions. However, the National Library of Medicine encourages an even broader, deeper approach to memory care by highlighting the importance of reminiscence therapy. This process encourages those with memory loss to describe information pertaining to their distant past and, by extension, the more nuanced complexities of their identity, such as their ancestral heritage and the cultural framework of their upbringing. Memory care patients are encouraged to tell stories, albeit autobiographical ones, to remind them that they exist. Professor Gabriel was raised in an Italian American household with traditions that formed him in adulthood. I AM YOU is a permanent record of his identity that may be used years from now to educate and comfort him after Alzheimer’s Disease begins to erase his memory of himself.
I AM YOU also responds to the fragility of Italian American collective memory. Indeed, having been subjected to negative stereotypes, prejudice, and acts of social injustice (including lynching and enemy alien status), early Italians have been forced to leave behind much of their diversity or internalize prejudice, causing linguistic and cultural identity loss. Professor Gabriel’s project provides, therefore, a creative tool for preserving and reinterpreting ethnic diversity
The current iteration of I AM YOU was first screened at the California Interdisciplinary Consortium of Italian Studies (CICIS) annual conference at California State University Long Beach in the spring of 2023. The project is in its germinal stages and will continue to develop with new “episodes” pertaining to other aspects of Gabriel’s life. Students and faculty interested in exploring the intersection of memory preservation, performance, and identity (Italian American and others) are encouraged to reach out. Trailer below.
Lead: Nick Gabriel