Professor McBride Co-curates Exhibit on Italian American Film

SF STATE NEWS -- Italian American films are renowned for iconic quotes and images, from Don Corleone’s “I’m going to make him an offer he cant refuse” in The Godfather to Rocky Balboa’s epic dash up the 77 stone steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Rocky. These and other classic films and the far-reaching impact Italian Americans have had on cinema and culture are all examined in an original documentary exhibit written and co-curated by SF State Cinema Professor Joseph McBride. “Italian American Cinema: From Capra to the Coppolas” opened September 18 at the Museo Italo Americano in San Francisco and will run through March 6. The exhibit explores the contributions of major Italian American filmmakers and actors. August Coppola, dean of SF State’s College of Creative Arts from 1984 to 1992, was the driving force behind SF State’s Fine Arts Building, which opened in 1993. “His role as an educator is an inspirational part of the family saga,” McBride said.