Docu screening and talk + Live concert
Europe-Xroads event with directors Samba Ngum & Emilio Tamburini and musicians Napoleon Maddox and Sophia Domancich
18:00 h / Waag +3 – screening of the documentary “Black Vesuvio” (EN with IT subtitles) and talk with directors Samba Ngum and Emilio Tamburini
20:00 h / Waag -1 – Sophia Domancich & Napoleon Maddox live concert
Crossing Cultures explores the vibrant zone of contact that emerges where two cultural worlds meet—a space shaped by encounters between people, imaginations, sounds, and lived experiences.
The evening opens with a short film by directors Samba Ngum and Emilio Tamburini. “Black Vesuvio” tells a story of personal identification with Naples’ iconic volcano, seen through the eyes of Samba Ngum—a Gambian entrepreneur and musician who came to Italy for love. After finding work at the Vesuvius National Park, Samba faces, on one hand, the racism of certain tourists and, on the other, a growing affection for the volcano itself: powerful yet forced into silence… until the day it erupts.
Following the screening, Gianpaolo Chiriacò will moderate a conversation with the two directors.
The evening continues in Waag’s historic cellar with a performance by the duo Sophia Domancich and Napoleon Maddox, embodying yet another meeting at the crossroads of musical worlds and identities. A classically trained pianist devoted to experimentation—from jazz to avant-rock in the spirit of Robert Wyatt—Sophia Domancich weaves soundscapes around the vocal acrobatics of Napoleon Maddox, an African American rapper, poet, and beatboxer who emerged with the band IsWhat?!.
A collaboration driven by sonic exploration and a tribute to the great African American composers.
Samba Ngum is a hip-hop artist and the founder of the fashion brand iFree. Born in Gambia, he arrived in Italy five years ago. His artistic and personal journey took a meaningful turn when he began working on Mount Vesuvius. Realizing he was among the first African immigrants employed in such a setting, he decided to document his own perspective on what it means to live, work, and be Black in Italy. Through his encounter with the “Research as Vocality” team, the audiovisual material he collected became the basis for a collaborative project with Emilio Tamburini, leading to the creation of his first documentary.
Emilio Tamburini is a researcher and filmmaker. As part of his practice-based PhD at New York University, he uses collaborative and experimental cinema to explore urban imaginaries that challenge dominant narratives. Moving across the boundaries of ethnography, art, and activism, his work focuses on sound and listening practices, creative engagements with archives, and the politics of space. He lives and conducts research between Brooklyn, Bologna, and Berlin.
Napoleon Maddox is a writer, musician, visual artist and educator whose work is largely based on historical documentation and social engagement. His first substantial work in terms of community involvement focused on the suburban areas of France, where he created A Riot Named Nina (2009), in which he explored the repertoire of Nina Simone and the social conditions of the Parisian suburbs. In 2017 he premiered the multimedia production Twice the First Time. Through document analysis and collections of oral histories, Maddox unfolded the narrative of conjoined artists Millie-Christine McCoy, born in slavery in 1851. He used a similar approach in his most recent production and paintings, L’Ouverture de Toussaint (2021–2023), inspired by the life of the leader of the Haitian revolution.
Sophia Domancich, nata a Parigi da madre francese e padre italiano, è una pianista che attraversa il progressive rock, la musica sperimentale e il jazz contemporaneo, entrando a far parte di formazioni molto diverse fin dal suo debutto nel 1979. Ha collaborato con musicisti dei Soft Machine e Gong e con il batterista Simon Goubert, suo compagno di vita, alternando questi progetti ai lavori discografici con il Sophia Domancich Trio, da Funerals (1992) a La Part des Anges (1997). Con progetti come Pentacle, DAG, Lilienmund e ulteriori collaborazioni internazionali, continua a esplorare nuovi territori sonori, includendo elettronica e sound design.
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