Julie Mallozzi’s documentary films explore the fluidity of cultural identity and historical memory. At the heart of her interest are the ways in which cultural traditions are “repurposed” to address contemporary social problems.

Mallozzi’s films have won awards at festivals around the world and have screened in museums, universities and on public television. Her debut film Once Removed tells the story of meeting her mother’s family in China and learning about their involvement in China’s complicated political history. Monkey Dance reveals how traditional Cambodian dance helped three Cambodian-American teens navigate the minefields of urban adolescence. Indelible Lalita tells the story of a woman whose body – and identity – have been painfully transformed by ovarian cancer, breast cancer and a dramatic loss of skin pigment. Mallozzi is now finishing The Circle: A Story of Murder and Reconciliation in Boston.

In the past several years, Mallozzi has explored other formats for her work. Harvard University commissioned her to create 60.30.1, an 11-site light and video installation honoring the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She installed 25th and Mission in a Chinese-owned Laundromat and the video sculpture Breakfast in galleries in Boston and San Francisco. She and co-creator Melissa Ludtke are currently rolling out their trans-media story Touching Home in China, which explores girlhood in rural China through the eyes of two American adoptees.

Boston’s lively documentary community has involved Mallozzi in many different roles as a freelancer. She edited and co-produced Sharon Linezo Hong’s My Louisiana Love and edited Ross McElwee’s In Paraguay. In the television arena, she field-produced the China segment of Six Billion and Beyond and assisted on Americas, Born Under the Red Flag and Pictures from a Revolution. Through her company Julie Mallozzi Productions, she also produces a wide range of media for nonprofit and government organizations.

Mallozzi grew up with a Chinese mother and an Italian-American father in rural Ohio, where her family managed a Native American historical site for 20 years. She has taught film and videomaking since 1996 at Harvard University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston University and RISD. Harvard awarded her a Certificate for Distinction in Teaching.

Film / Animation / Video

Faculty

Full-time + adjunct faculty