Senior Screen Arts major Alekza Rhyan writes interview questions in Italian at Made in Italy Bistro in Westlake Village on Sept. 22. Rhyan translated the answers into English subtitles for her documentary “Made in Italy.” Photo courtesy of Alekza Rhyan
When she was 10 years old, senior Screen Arts major Alekza Rhyan asked her mom to put her in Italian lessons. Little did she know this request would shape her future.
As a child actress, Rhyan said she knew her biggest dream was to enter the entertainment industry. Yet she never knew a culture outside her own would be the way she would find her footing.
“When I was 10, I just woke up one day and told my mom, I said, ‘I need to learn Italian,’” Rhyan said. “I was obsessed with the show ‘Cake Boss’ and his family was Italian, and so I was like, ‘I need to be like Cake Boss.’”
Multicultural Beginnings
Growing up in El Paso, Texas, in a Mexican-American household, Rhyan said she has always been used to balancing different cultures and languages. Though she was unaware at the time, this planted the seed for a future with this same balancing game.
“Multicultural values in the way I grew up and being bilingual had already helped push this need to understand different cultures and different languages,” Rhyan said.
When Rhyan started her academic journey at Pepperdine, she said she never intended to continue her study of Italian language from her childhood. She met with Brittany Corbucci, assistant instructor of Italian Studies, telling her she wanted to study abroad in Florence. After hearing this, Corbucci encouraged her to pick the language back up.
“I want students to see that continuing to take Italian can open so many doors, and you can find ways to combine your passions,” Corbucci said.
Rhyan ended up studying abroad outside of Pepperdine in a small city called Perugia in the summer after her sophomore year. Upon coming home, she said she immediately began figuring out a way for her to return.
“When I went to Italy the first time, I kept trying to go back,” Rhyan said. “Every time I’d go back, I’d say, ‘This is where I’m happiest.’”
Though she describes herself as a workaholic, Rhyan said she adapted to and fell in love with Italian culture.
“Italians do life so well in the fact that there is no overworking,” Rhyan said. “There’s a saying in Italian called ‘Dolce far niente,’ which means ‘the sweetness of doing nothing,’ because they do [life] so calmly, and I think that they take importance to things that are actually important.”
Corbucci said she always reminds her students the language can create opportunities for them regardless of what field they desire to work in. It was this encouragement that helped Rhyan realize she could combine her longtime love of Italian culture and entertainment.
Corbucci helped connect Rhyan with Italian producers and directors who work in the film industry. She said she has taken her to film premieres in LA and helped Rhyan attend a screenwriting and film critique workshop in Rome, helping her realize her passion for international producing.
“Made in Italy”
In her documentary class with Screen Arts Professor Paul Kim, Rhyan had to bring two pitches to class. Her classmate, senior Screen Arts major Dane Malzahn, said he didn’t love either of his own pitches but was drawn to Rhyan’s.
The two said they decided to take on the project together, as they could each play to their own strengths — Rhyan as a producer and Malzahn as director of photography.
“We can both give our input on the story, and we won’t really step on each other’s toes,” Malzahn said. “She wants nothing to do with the camera, and I don’t want anything to do with producing.”
Rhyan and Malzahn said they began working on the documentary, called “Made in Italy,” which tells the story of Antonio Sessa, chef and owner of Made in Italy Bistro in Westlake Village. From the beginning, Rhyan emphasized the need to properly execute the story.
“I told everyone in the class, ‘If you do ‘Made in Italy,’ it will be in Italian. No buts, hows or whys,’” Rhyan said. “I thought it was really important to find something that could touch on culture in someone else’s language because I think a lot of media is centered around the American audience and American consumption.”
Rhyan describes herself as “Italian at heart,” though she has no Italian in her blood. Because of this, she said she approached the documentary thoughtfully, double-checking every theme and interview question with Corbucci and her friends in Italy.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations just about different elements of Italian culture and American culture and holding on to the best parts of your home culture while still being open-minded and trying to get the best of both,” Corbucci said.
Rhyan performed interviews for the documentary entirely in Italian, translating for English subtitles herself. Corbucci said this is a testament to Rhyan’s language and cultural skills, describing her Italian as “impeccable.”
The film remains a rough draft, as there are certain cultural moments Rhyan said she wants to expand, which she and Malzahn continue to work toward this semester in their senior capstone.
Looking Forward
Corbucci said Rhyan’s work ethic has taken her far and will continue to open new doors.
“She never lets an opportunity go — she’ll never miss out on an opportunity to learn or to grow in her career,” Corbucci said.
Rhyan has exemplified this trait throughout her time at Pepperdine, as she began working with the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) her first year. With the festival taking place annually during finals week, Rhyan said she has always gone, despite facing a dilemma.
“It’s always been a decision of, ‘Do you go and grow professionally, or do you stay and be academically responsible?’” Rhyan said.
This decision to grow has led Rhyan to become the programming coordinator for the festival, which is a role she said she continues to work in today.
Rhyan said she used to think success looked like working in the entertainment industry in LA, which was her primary reason for coming to Pepperdine. Now, thanks to the opportunities and mentorship she has had while studying here, she realizes her dreams lie beyond the City of Angels.
“I was having this conversation with Professor Kim, and he said, ‘When you go through life, success will be measured differently for you. What you thought was successful two years ago might look different two years from now,’” Rhyan said.
After graduating from Pepperdine this spring, Rhyan said she will move to Rome to continue working in creative development and international cinema with the connections she has made in LA.
“It was a really hard decision when everyone tells you that you should stay in Los Angeles,” Rhyan said. “But I think you should live where you’re happiest.”
Looking further ahead into her future, Rhyan said she hopes to one day become a trifecta of Mexican, Italian and American culture, particularly expanding Mexican representation in the entertainment industry.
Through a multitude of jobs, internships, learning experiences, student projects and more, Rhyan said it is important not to consider opportunity as luck but as something you work for.
“There’s a quote that says, ‘Hard work will win when talent fails to work hard,’” Rhyan said. “Putting in your all and working really, really hard towards your goals and taking every single opportunity is what leads to success.”
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Contact Amanda Monahan via email: amanda.monahan@pepperdine.edu or via Instagram: @amandamonahanjournalism