Autumn Beat
“Autumn Beat is an exciting and unprecedented story about Black culture in Italy, and the role of music as a means of redemption and search for identity. ” – Nicole Marganti, Italian Originals at Amazon Studios
Two brothers, Tito and Paco have the same dream: to break into the rap music world. Paco is a born performer and Tito knows how to write like no other but ambition, life, and love for the same woman will test their bond. The film, which spans three-decades, has a cast mostly made up of Italian African descent comprising Hamed Seydou, Abby 6ix, Geneme, Juliet Joseph, Dylan Magon, Mohamed Diallo, Marco Renna, Mamy Seny Gueye, Francesco Danquah, and Mafoku Michelle Cloe Kengne, and Italian hip-hop stars: Gue Pequeno, Ernia and Sfera Ebbasta.
Antonio Dikele Distefano
In a bid to increase black representation in new Italian cinema, well-known Italian author turned screenwriter Antonio Dikele Distefano made his worldwide debut on Netflix Italia in 2021 with the groundbreaking mini-series, “Zero,” featuring a primarily black cast.
Before connecting with Amazon Italy and Netflix Italia, Antonio had already become an inspiration to many Black Italians through publishing, television, and social media projects. He went on to write five novels for Mondadori between 2014 and 2019, with combined sales exceeding 500,000 copies sold. Along the way, he founded Esse Magazine in 2016 as an outlet for young Black artists to gain recognition and did video interviews with emerging performers. Today, Esse is the largest rap publication in Italy. In addition, he owns the communications agency Cantera. His first foray into screenplays netted the newly released “Zero” Netflix Italia mini-series, which launched him onto the world stage.
Antonio, with his own production company is developing films that bring Black performers onto the world stage so they’re no longer invisible. He says doing quality projects that positively portray underserved communities will give people an opportunity to exist. If the mainstream chooses to ignore them, that’s their choice, but they’ll no longer be invisible.
