From Udine, Italy to London, Canada: The Immigration Story of Alceo and Liliana

In 2018, as a student at Western University, I produced this visual history project for a course titled "Bridging Classroom and Community: Languages and Cultures in Action". For this intercultural communication assignment, I was paired with Alceo and Liliana De Odorico, a couple from the local Italian community in London, Ontario, who were volunteered by their daughter, to document their migration story. The resulting video, titled "From Udine, Italy to London, Canada," preserves their personal journey from the farms of Friuli to their arrival in North America in 1966.

The immigration journey of Alceo and Liliana De Odorico began in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, where Liliana grew up in San Daniele del Friuli and Alceo in Tavagnacco. Both spent their early lives working in agriculture before moving to Switzerland for better economic prospects; it was in Zurich that they met, got engaged, and eventually returned to Italy to marry. On Liliana's birthday, October 26, 1966, they arrived in North America and settled in London, Ontario, where they navigated the challenges of a new culture to build a successful life and raise their daughter, Iris. Now in their 80s, they reflect with great pride on their Italian heritage and the "wholehearted" gratitude they feel for the life they've established in Canada over the past 52 years.

https://youtu.be/1YE9GVRkqZc?si=zwWddkiDBCHqPkYD