Italy has produced some of the most celebrated movies in the Western world, featuring directors and actors like Federico Fellini, Vittorio de Sica, Sophia Loren, and Marcello Mastroianni—household names for many cinema lovers. From the irreverent movies like La Dolce Vita and Marriage Italian Style to the tearjerkers like Cinema Paradiso and Life is Beautiful to the social justice-oriented films like Rome, Open City and Bicycle Thieves, Italian cinema has brought to light many facets of the country’s culture.

Italian identity has undoubtedly shaped and been shaped by its cinema, yet there are still groups that are ignored, fetishized, and even mocked by the country’s widely-renowned movies. The groups that are most misrepresented by Italian cinema include immigrants, Italians of color, and southern Italians. The way that we represent our society through cinema, one of Italy’s most beloved cultural activities, provides excellent insight into the divisions and tensions that exist in the country. Because Italian cinema is key to understanding the country’s culture, there must be a more concerted effort on the part of cinema makers to represent the society more accurately.

The lack of complex representation in Italian cinema is especially frustrating because it is clear that Italian filmmakers do not lack insight or nuance. In fact, marginalized groups have been accurately represented and valorized by the country’s cinema. Most notably, some of Italy’s most famous and best-loved Italian films—the Neorealist movies of the 1960s and 1970s—largely focus on the issues faced by working class people in Italy. These films help bring to light the differing levels of opportunity that social and economic status afford people in Italy. However, it is important to examine where race fits into this picture.

Though it is not apparent from Italy’s most popular films, there have been black actors in the country’s movies since the inception of filmmaking. Fred Kuwornu, a black Italian director and activist, has brought this issue to light with his 2016 documentary Blaxploitalian: 100 Anni di Afrostorie nel Cinema Italiano (100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema). This film discusses the presence of Italian actors of African descent and black foreign actors in Italian movies in order to highlight the historic and continued presence of black actors in this cinema.

With his films—which also include Inside Buffalo and 18 IUS Soli— Kuwornu has helped to map out a more realistic vision of Italian society today, a vision that cannot be gathered from most of the country’s media. Kuwornu forces his audience to ask themselves whose voices have been privileged in Italian media.

Unfortunately, even if many actors of color are born and raised in Italy, they are usually still cast in the roles of immigrants and are sometimes forced to fake accents that are not their own. It is clear that actors of color have been given a narrow space in Italian media: they are cast in roles of people that are represented as being outside of the country’s cultural identity.

These flawed representations prove that Italian cinema makers have been unable to depict a nuanced and critical vision of Italy. They have not been able to represent the ever-changing demographic landscape of the Peninsula. In fact, to be black and Italian, or to be Asian and Italian, or to be Hispanic and Italian, is becoming more and more common: around 14% of Italians were born to immigrant parents. Italy does not have as far-reaching or complex a colonial history as France or England, so it is a less attractive country for French and English-speaking African immigrants. However, Italy’s colonial history does impact the country’s demographics. In fact, Eritreans and Somalis have been migrating to Italy since at least the 1970s. Yet, when you turn on the TV or go to the movies in Italy, it is highly unlikely that you will see a newscaster or actor of color. It is rare to hear an accent that falls outside of the acceptable “native” and “well-educated” Italian—it is even uncommon to hear a strong southern Italian accent on TV.

Until we see more Italian cinema makers like Kuwornu, who highlight the voices and experiences of marginalized groups in Italy, we will only see a small portion of Italian society portrayed in its media. Cinema makers must seek to represent all facets of Italian society if Italy is to maintain its status and relevance in worldwide cinema.