Screening of an 80-minute-long preview of: PBS Mini-Series. Finding the Motherload (2013) Directed by Gianfranco Norelli, Produced by Gianfranco Norelli and Suma Kurien. Followed by a Q&A with director/producers Gianfranco Norelli and Suma Kurien

Italians first went to California in large numbers with the Gold Rush. While most found little gold, they did find a mother lode in farming, fishing, commerce and making wine.

inding the Mother Lode documents the experience of Italian immigrants in California, which was markedly different from that of their compatriots elsewhere in the United States. Through stories set in seven Italian communities throughout California, this film examines how economic and social mobility became possible for many Italians in the Golden State. It is also a look at how immigrant identity is maintained and transformed as immigrants become assimilated into mainstream America.

The current film is a follow-up to the filmmakers' critically acclaimed Pane Amaro (Bitter Bread) on the Italian immigration to the East Coast. Finding the Mother Lode is also based on extensive research and weaves together oral histories by community members with scholarly analyses which provide the larger historical context.

Source: http://www.casaitaliananyu.org/