BARBARA SERRA

Broadcast Freelance Writer and Broadcaster

By Amy McArdle

If you could sum up your experience at City in three words what would they be?

Challenging. Camaraderie. Memorable.

Do you have a piece of work that you are proudest of?

My flm Fascism in the Family which I made for Al Jazeera English. I looked at the story of my grandfather, who was a fascist in Mussolini’s Italy, and linked it to the rise of the far-right today. I’m proud of it because it touches on one of the political stories of our time and, as you can imagine, it was not easy to make. I thought it was important to use my experience as an Italian to tell this story to an English speaking audience. Countries like the UK and US don’t have fascism in their history or similar personal stories, but are seeing a rise of the far-right in their own societies.

If you could interview anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Queen Elizabeth II, as a naturalised Briton, I swore allegiance to her, and when you come to the UK as a foreigner, she is obviously a symbol of the country. She has had a front-row seat to the enormous changes the world has seen in the past century: political, cultural, and religious. She would have been a fascinating and unique interviewee.

Have you ever experienced sexism in your career? I think I was treated differently because I was a woman, but my ‘foreignness’ was always an obstacle, not sexism.