Valeria Provenzano

About me: Hello! I’m Val and I love salsa, because you can both eat it and dance it. Also because that’s the best metaphor for what I am: a Venezuelan with Italian origins. I’m based in Turin, Italy, but since I’m a curious person and I love movement, I’m not afraid of changing my residency, meeting new cultures and trying new dishes. I’m very passionate about migration, politics, LGBTIQ+ rights and Human Rights. Sometimes I play God, sometimes I witness: As God/ Fiction writer: My first novel is called Rosario, and is a courage and perseverance drama that starts with a kid given away -by her parents- to a rich family, and ends with a 41 year-old self-made woman, mother and a grandmother. The novel is going to be released in 2022. I co-wrote and edited Junto, a fictional-documentary by Johana Binder about gender models, cultural colonialism and dancing. The film is now being recorded. I also co-wrote the short film Chi siamo, directed by Tommy Bernardi and Ruben Conti, and worked as 1st Assistant Director during its shooting. As a witness/ Non-fiction writer: I’m the author of L’onda e il non luogo, an essay about belonging and migration, published in the book Lingua Madre Duemilaventi. Racconti di donne straniere in Italia, (https://www.seb27.it/content/lingua-madre-duemilaventi). I also wrote Microrrelatos de terror para comprender una ciudad (https://www.costadelsolfm.org/2020/05/25/valeriaprovenzano-micro-relatos-de-terror-para-comprender-una-ciudad-como-cumana/), an essay about the submissive and chaotic situation of a city, published by Costa del Sol, news portal, in Guiria – Venezuela. I’m currently developing Belonging, a documentary about exiles, displacements and the search for belonging of people that have left their places for, at least, the second time in their lives. The teaser of the project can be found on Vimeo, through the MezzoLitro channel (https://vimeo.com/-) As a non-hard-core witness: Solíamos vivir en manadas, a memoir about exile published by The Wynwood Times (https://www.thewynwoodtimes.com/soliamos-vivir-en-manadas/). Other: I have a 6-year background as a literary editor. I worked as an editorial assistant in Ediciones Ekaré, a children and young readers publishing house, and as the chief editor of Fundación Bigott, an institution that works with traditional Venezuelan culture. I’ve also collaborated with journalists, photographers and other writers as a corrector and editor. I have a Bachelor Degree in Literature by the Universidad Central de Venezuela (CaracasVenezuela), and a Diploma in Storytelling & Filmmaking by the Scuola Holden (Turin Italy).