GRAIN at ArtLitLab

GRAIN is at ARTLISTLAB

We are very happy to be part of Arts + Literature Laboratory, PhotoMidwest Festival 2024 and FlakPhoto Projects.

Thank you so much Andy Adams founder of @flakphoto ; James Kreul, coordinator of @artlitlab and to the whole crew of Photo Midwest Festival 2024

Arts + Literature Laboratory

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17TH, 7:00 PM
111 S. LIVINGSTON STREET #111, MADISON, WINSCONSIN, 53703

 

Synopsis:

Grain celebrates analog photography by showing its ups and downs in real-world scenarios and tells the story of artistic commitment, discovery and romance. Whether it’s a fashion house seeking to bring a new edge to their creative work, an amateur perusing eBay for the perfect vintage Polaroid, or an influencer attempting to capture a comforting retro aesthetic on social media, analog photography has piqued the interest of people everywhere. Is this resurgence a backlash against digital photography? Is it just a trend perpetuated by our desire for authenticity in an increasingly superficial world? Or is it something else entirely?

Filmmakers' note:

After having spent so much money and time photographing in analog ourselves we began to question why. Why were we making the choice of going for the harder and most expensive way of photographing? Why were we choosing to use an older technology and ditch the benefits of digital. Were we really disregarding those benefits? Doesn't it all end up on Instagram anyways?
As we entertained these ideas in our head we realized that it didn't really matter what two random guys thought about it, we wanted to understand the bigger picture. If we were interested in understanding this, more people had to be as well. The perfect pretext for making a movie about something.
We started gathering different points of views from relevant photographers and institutions and went for a combination of cinéma vérité and cinematic shots to capture the attention of the viewer while showing the ins and outs of this multifaceted practice in real world scenarios.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain

Holding on / URBANAUTICA

Holding On

Anchor plates are essential components in building constructions, providing support and stability to structures. These elements, strategically placed on façades, distribute and manage forces ensuring the building’s integrity.
Anchor plates can emerge during demolitions, becoming visible for a limited amount of time, or left exposed ‘ad infinitum’, converting themselves into esthetic features.
They are visible in a wide spectrum of shapes, materials, and patterns throughout the cityscape.
Given the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of New York City, anchor plates reflect the city’s rich tapestry of architectural diversity.

More about this on URBANAUTICA
IMAGES AS CONCEPTUAL BUILDING BLOCKS
Written by @steve.bisson

‘We seek more from the world, or rather, we resist allowing things to remain static. In inhabiting the world, human beings inevitably alter it, and therefore manifest the need to have control of the things of the world. The rest is technique. The clear risk humanity faces is in choosing technique as the ultimate goal, as an end in itself. Technique is thus invoked as a myth of survival, a means of overcoming the agony of death or the uncertainty of the future’.

‘The series of unusual facades of New York buildings depicted by Tommaso Sacconi emphasizes the technical aspect of this relationship (...)’

Magazzino Italian Art

Trilled to be part of this!

Marco Anelli: Building Magazzino 2014-2024
An exhibition celebrating the institution’s history and the people who made it possible

The exhibition features a decade’s worth of photographs by the Italian-born, New York-based photographer Marco Anelli (@marco_anelli_studio), offering a unique visual narrative chronicling the evolution of Magazzino Italian Art from its inception to the present.

Curated by Paola Mura, Artistic Director of Magazzino Italian Art, the Robert Olnick Pavilion will house around 50 large-scale photos and a film realized by Tommaso Sacconi that capture the essence of our architectural journey and the transformation of its space over the years.

Recognizing the dozens of construction workers and craftspeople who built the institution, it is with great pride that Magazzino has the opportunity to present such a project.

Marco Anelli has been the visual chronicler of Magazzino Italian Art since its inception, capturing the visionary spirit of its founders, Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. With a keen eye for detail, he has rendered this project through an engaging visual language. Renowned for his work in architectural photography and restoration sites, Anelli also excels in capturing authentic emotions in portraits. Dedicated to long-term projects, Anelli brings depth and complexity to Magazzino's documentation. Through a selection of large format images, we witness the metamorphosis of an old industrial building into a museum, documented from 2014 to 2017. The journey ends with the juxtaposition of the old and new structures, harmoniously balanced in a relationship of volumes.

The spaces come to life with the installation of artworks, with concrete, glass, and windows depicted as artistic elements. Anelli's photographs then document the construction of theRobert Olnick Pavilion, inaugurated in 2023 for temporary exhibitions, presented in a film by Tommaso Sacconi. In this visual narrative, the photographs come alive, creating a rhythm that immerses the viewer in the creative process.

The protagonists of this undertaking emerge in their daily roles: architects Alberto Campo Baeza and Miguel Quismondo, construction workers, and Nancy and Giorgio. The natural light dances, creating new spaces and shapes on the gallery walls. Building Magazzino 2014-2024 showcases Anellis excellence in architectural photography. His images convey the sense of becoming, process precariousness, and waiting that define the construction site.

Simultaneously, there is a human investigation of faces and poses, capturing not only the attitude and role of the actors in this construction work but also their thoughts, pride, anticipation, effort, and dedication. Anelli's goal was not just to document the museum's construction but also to witness the humanity, emotions, and experiences that made this project a reality, transforming it into an autonomous work of art. The photographs narrate the history of Magazzino Italian Art, its mission, and the indispensable role of the people involved, extending the project's meaning from architectural elements to the human component, reflecting Anelli's exploration of architecture, environment and humanity.

Curated by Paola Mura

GRAIN at WORTHLESSSTUDIOS

Hello NYC, we are back!

GRAIN screening followed by Q&A at Worthless Studios

Tickets are free but limited – RSVP quickly here below

WORTHLESSSTUDIOS

SATURDAY, JUNE 22ND, 5:00 PM
7 KNICKERBOKER AVE, BROOKLYN, NY

 

Synopsis:

Today, the art world and beyond is obsessed with shooting analog. Whether it's a fashion house seeking to bring a new edge to their creative work, an amateur perusing eBay for the perfect vintage Polaroid, or an influencer attempting to capture a comforting retro aesthetic on social media, analog photography has piqued the interest of people everywhere. Grain: Analog Renaissance is a documentary by Alex Contell and Tommaso Sacconi that explores the stories of those committed to using film in modern day photography.

Filmmakers' note:

After having spent so much money and time photographing in analog ourselves we began to question why. Why were we making the choice of going for the harder and most expensive way of photographing? Why were we choosing to use an older technology and ditch the benefits of digital. Were we really disregarding those benefits? Doesn't it all end up on Instagram anyways?
As we entertained these ideas in our head we realized that it didn't really matter what two random guys thought about it, we wanted to understand the bigger picture. If we were interested in understanding this, more people had to be as well. The perfect pretext for making a movie about something.
We started gathering different points of views from relevant photographers and institutions and went for a combination of cinéma vérité and cinematic shots to capture the attention of the viewer while showing the ins and outs of this multifaceted practice in real world scenarios.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain

GRAIN on DOCSVILLE

GRAIN is available on DOCSVILLE!

GRAIN is now available worldwide on Docsville, a monthly subscription platform for independent documentary films.

If you liked the documentary, please don’t forget to rate it on TUBI , Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Letterboxd, Docsville and FILMIN. If you didn’t like it, keep it for yourself instead .-)

Synopsis:

Today, the art world and beyond is obsessed with shooting analog. Whether it's a fashion house seeking to bring a new edge to their creative work, an amateur perusing eBay for the perfect vintage Polaroid, or an influencer attempting to capture a comforting retro aesthetic on social media, analog photography has piqued the interest of people everywhere.

Filmmakers' note:

After having spent so much money and time photographing in analog ourselves we began to question why. Why were we making the choice of going for the harder and most expensive way of photographing? Why were we choosing to use an older technology and ditch the benefits of digital. Were we really disregarding those benefits? Doesn't it all end up on Instagram anyways?
As we entertained these ideas in our head we realized that it didn't really matter what two random guys thought about it, we wanted to understand the bigger picture. If we were interested in understanding this, more people had to be as well. The perfect pretext for making a movie about something.
We started gathering different points of views from relevant photographers and institutions and went for a combination of cinéma vérité and cinematic shots to capture the attention of the viewer while showing the ins and outs of this multifaceted practice in real world scenarios.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain

GRAIN on TUBI

TUBI

GRAIN is available on TUBI!

GRAIN is now free to watch on TUBI (with ads) in the US, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama. More news to follow!

If you liked the documentary, please don’t forget to rate it on TUBI , Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Letterboxd and FILMIN. If you didn’t like it, keep it for yourself instead .-)

Synopsis:

Today, the art world and beyond is obsessed with shooting analog. Whether it's a fashion house seeking to bring a new edge to their creative work, an amateur perusing eBay for the perfect vintage Polaroid, or an influencer attempting to capture a comforting retro aesthetic on social media, analog photography has piqued the interest of people everywhere.

Filmmakers' note:

After having spent so much money and time photographing in analog ourselves we began to question why. Why were we making the choice of going for the harder and most expensive way of photographing? Why were we choosing to use an older technology and ditch the benefits of digital. Were we really disregarding those benefits? Doesn't it all end up on Instagram anyways?
As we entertained these ideas in our head we realized that it didn't really matter what two random guys thought about it, we wanted to understand the bigger picture. If we were interested in understanding this, more people had to be as well. The perfect pretext for making a movie about something.
We started gathering different points of views from relevant photographers and institutions and went for a combination of cinéma vérité and cinematic shots to capture the attention of the viewer while showing the ins and outs of this multifaceted practice in real world scenarios.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain

GRAIN on Amazon Video

Prime Video

GRAIN is finally available on Amazon Video!

GRAIN is now available for rent on Amazon Prime in the US and Australia. If you wach it, please don’t forget to share your feedback on Rotten Tomatoes, FILMIN, IMDb and Letterboxd. Thank you!

Synopsis:

Today, the art world and beyond is obsessed with shooting analog. Whether it's a fashion house seeking to bring a new edge to their creative work, an amateur perusing eBay for the perfect vintage Polaroid, or an influencer attempting to capture a comforting retro aesthetic on social media, analog photography has piqued the interest of people everywhere.

Filmmakers' note:

After having spent so much money and time photographing in analog ourselves we began to question why. Why were we making the choice of going for the harder and most expensive way of photographing? Why were we choosing to use an older technology and ditch the benefits of digital. Were we really disregarding those benefits? Doesn't it all end up on Instagram anyways?
As we entertained these ideas in our head we realized that it didn't really matter what two random guys thought about it, we wanted to understand the bigger picture. If we were interested in understanding this, more people had to be as well. The perfect pretext for making a movie about something.
We started gathering different points of views from relevant photographers and institutions and went for a combination of cinéma vérité and cinematic shots to capture the attention of the viewer while showing the ins and outs of this multifaceted practice in real world scenarios.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain

The Royal Photographic Society - IPE 165

IPE 165 is showing at The Royal Photographic Society until June 2nd in Bristol, UK.

The RPS International Photography Exhibition IPE 165 is the world’s longest-running photography exhibition. Now in its 165th edition, renowned for showcasing a diverse range of contemporary photography from around the world.

The International Photography Exhibition IPE 165 explores themes such as environmental issues, identity, community, dementia or grief in their work, showing how contemporary photographers are engaging with and capturing aspects of the world that are not only visually compelling but also socially and culturally significant.

Each edition of the International Photography Exhibition invites a guest selection panel of leading voices in photography, bringing an exciting mix of expertise in photography as artists, curators, editors, and commentators. This year, for the IPE 165, the selection panel consisted of @asiko_artist a Nigerian visual-artist currently exhibiting at the Gagosian Gallery in London; Louise Fedotov-Clements, Director of Photoworks and CoFounder of @formatfestival ; @siqi_lea a Chinese visual-artist based in London and previous winner of the IPE 164 Under 30’s award; @raquelvilpe , Curator at the Impressions Gallery and Dr Michael Pritchard, photographic historian, researcher, writer, and lecturer.

Many thanks to @billstarman

The Royal Photographic Society

337 Paintworks, Arnos Vale, Bristol, BS4 3AR

FEBRUARY 3rd, JUNE 2nd 2024
THURSDAY - SUNDAY 10AM - 5PM

 

DER GREIF - Happy Accidents

The Project ERROR / PORTRAITS is part of DER GREIF Guest Room

Guest Room aims to spark collaboration. Simon Baker, Director of the MEP (Maison Européene de la Photographie, Paris), is teaming up with his colleague Aden Vincendeau.

Together, they have developed the following framework for your submissions: "Happy accidents: embracing mistakes".

An aesthetic effect for some, and proof of a lack of technical knowledge for others, the photographic mistakes are a compelling alternative way of understanding the medium in all its diverse aspects from making photographic images, to exhibiting and publishing them. Scarcely considered during the second half of the 19th century, photographic faults gradually acquired a certain notoriety at the beginning of the 20th century when surrealists like Man Ray found a new way of reading and using the ‘ghosts’ in Eugene Atget’s images of old Paris. From Man Ray’s Atget to Daido Moriyama’s epic collection of ‘errors’ Farewell Photography, accepting and embracing involuntary faults has long since established itself as a deliberate way of making new and surprising aesthetic effects. "Happy Accidents: Embracing Mistakes" is interested in all manner of new and original ways of accepting things that happened by accident to become the basis of new works.

PRINTS FOR GAZA

Fundraising campaign in support of Médecins Sans Frontières (Al-Awda Hospital), Map Medical Aid for Palestinians (Medical aid for Palestinians); Beit Lahia Indonesian Hospital; Al Shifa Hospital active in Palestine since the beginning of the conflict. 

@perimetro__ @liveinslums

 The number of innocent civilians killed in Gaza has been growing since October 7.  

The neutrality of medical facilities and refugee camps has not been respected.

We know that all medical facilities in the country are on edge due to the huge influx of wounded civilians (largely relocated from other territories) and it’s reported that their emergency rooms and intensive care units are overloaded and unable to operate due to lack of supplies.

We have asked how the civilian population can be helped by supporting emergency medical assistance to the hospitals and associations that are operating ensuring absolute priority for civilian victims.  It is estimated that more than 100,000 people already receiving treatment can no longer receive care. 

We believe that the humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip is the most serious right now. Here already more than 400,000 people are left without water and basic services, an estimated 1.4 million people are displaced, more than 8,500 are dead (60% of whom are women and children) and nearly 10,000 are seriously injured without health care. 

For this reason, we have identified a number of medical facilities operating in the Gaza Strip that we would like to support as a priority over aid interventions: 

Medical aid for Palestinian MAP 

Al-Awda Hospital – MSF Doctors Without Borders 

Beit Lahia Indonesian Hospital 

Al Shifa Hospital 

These are emergency medical facilities that ensure absolute priority for civilian victims and medical staff who continue to work on the ground despite the fact that the risks are now very high. 

We have mobilized the world of photography to support the PRINTS FOR GAZA campaign with a new call to action that will unfold with these two concrete initiatives: 

1) donating an open edition image, purchasable online at a cost of 100 euros, 100% of the proceeds of which will be donated to support the identified health and humanitarian assistance network, excluding fine art printing and shipping costs. Images will be available for purchase online starting Nov. 8; 

2) creating photo portraits immediately post-produced and printed in A4 – A3 – A2 format on fine art paper at a cost of 120 euros. 50% of the proceeds will be donated by the campaign, the remaining part excluding fine art printing costs, will go to the photographer chosen for their portrait. 

The campaign will be active from Nov. 8 to Dec. 21 online and at the spaces at Via Tortona 31 (Spazio Crea), booking your slot online. The campaign launch event will be held in Milan at Casa degli Artisti 8/11 and in Rome at Conteporary Cluster on 18/11.

BUY PRINTS, HELP PEOPLE 

@perimetro__ @liveinslums

GRAIN at Syndacated

We are back! GRAIN will be screened at Syndicated, Brooklyn NY.

In partnership with Lomography we are hosting a free screening on November 9th at Syndicated Brooklyn + Q&A

Tickets are free but limited – RSVP quickly via our link in bio.
Please also let us know if your plans change, so we can make your seat available again.

Syndicated BK

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH, 6:00 PM
40 BOGART, 11206 BROOKLYN, NY

 

Synopsis:

These days, everyone’s shooting analog.
Whether it is a fashion house seeking out "new” creative or an amateur perusing eBay, analog film photography has piqued the interest (and search history) of people everywhere.
Is this resurgence a backlash against digital photography? Or simply put, is it a trend perpetuated by our desire for authenticity in an increasingly inauthentic world?
GRAIN is a documentary that explores the stories of those committed to using analog film in modern day photography.

PARATISSIMA Time Capsule

I am excited to announce that the project Therapy is part of PARATISSIMA / NICE & FAIR Contemporary Visions

‘TIME CAPSULE’ (IN)FINITE MEASURE OF THINGS’ is a collective exhibitions edited by Francesca Calzà, Greta De Marchi, Martina Ghignatti which will take place from November 1st to 5th at Cavallerizza, Via Verdi 5, Turin (IT).

About the exhibitions:

Every shape, color, texture, scent and sound with which man constantly comes into contact tells a story that, sometimes, is worth preserving and remembering.
Kept in a box or trapped in the memory, objects, tangible and intangible memories are collected: accumulating thus becomes a mania of the individual who wishes to convey the testimony of himself or of the community.
The collection represents an attic of being filled with thoughts, concepts and feelings, to which the collector himself gives a second life: the things, once desired and now patiently collected, take the form of fossils, new archaeological finds to investigate, throwing in this way a bridge between past, present and future.
Moving through the space of a collection and immersing oneself within it leaves those who come into contact with it a slight sense of nostalgia, a sensation of both loss and discovery to which no one is immune. A light patina thus remains indelible on the skin despite the perpetual passage of time. All the jealously guarded objects, however banal and everyday they may appear to the eyes of the present, take on a crucial importance for the representation of a now lost moment and of a culture to be left as a legacy, returning a gaze not only towards the past, but also looking towards the future. The relics of a lost identity are translated into an atlas that narrates time, giving life to the common thread of a potentially infinite memory, where memories are trapped in a dimension of uncertainty, in an era that has neither time nor place.
Decoding the contemporary for the man of tomorrow will inevitably mean attributing purposes and functions to the objects found as if they were certainties, after all the truth accompanies history without ever embracing it. How will the men of the future interpret the present and its manifestations? Thus, time capsules will be found, the memories crammed inside them will be dug up as soon as possible by future generations, restoring an archeology of our present time.
Excavations will come to light where the finds appear to be placed without a connection, legacies of the past without the intention of passing on a memory, but with the aim of reliving and obsessively recalling the shadow of one's existence.
The obsessive accumulation is instinctively induced by the inevitable sense of despondency faced with the awareness of the fleeting nature of memories, as of existence, for the man who fears forgetting or being forgotten. Train tickets, restaurant receipts, receipts and greeting cards from a lifetime are kept with the risk that Man stops possessing objects and begins to be possessed by them, deluding himself into being able to expand an instant with the ambition of make it eternal. A question therefore arises: but in the end, what is really left?

NOVEMBER 1ST / 5TH 2023
CAVALLERIZZA REALE - VIA VERDI 5, TURIN, ITALY

 

DER GREIF - Arles

The Project THERAPY is part of Les Rencontres d'Arles Nuit de L'Année 15th Anniversary Screening

Join us in Arles for the opening week’s Nuit de L'Année screening which features photographic proposals projected in loops onto large screens at the abandoned industrial site of the former Étienne paper mill. Our projection will celebrate our 15th Anniversary and includes 275 international artists chosen from our extensive archive and our 15th Anniversary open call for the 15-minute long video slideshow, containing six chapters. The images will come together to form new narratives through their juxtaposition, reflecting on all that we have achieved with our community over the last 15 years.

ETIENNE PAPER MILLS - 29 Av. de la Camargue, 13200 Arles, France Jul 08, 2023, 2.00 PM - 9.00 PM

 

DER GREIF - Past & Present

The Project THERAPY will be part of the collective exhibition Past & Present at Pinakothek der Moderne.

Join us for “Past & Present”, a collaborative weekend long celebration of our 15th anniversary in Pavilion 333 at Pinakothek Der Moderne and Zirka Space.

We will be presenting “Contextualise” at Pinakothek der Moderne, a rediscovery of the Der Greif archive through an interactive installation and artistic interventions from Friday, June 16 to Sunday, June 18, 2023. Admission is free, and the opening hours are as follows: Friday from 13:00 to 18:00, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00.

In celebration of our anniversary and the spirit of interdisciplinary art, the Past & Present display embraces the power of diversity and change in our present moment. Visitors are encouraged to explore the extensive Greif archive and dive into submissions from our recent open call on the theme of "Past & Present" by arranging and rearranging the image materials, crafting new visual narratives or challenging existing ones.

Türkenstraße 15, 80333 München, Germany Jun 16, 2023, 7.00 AM — Jun 18, 2023, 12.00 PM

 

GRAIN on FILMIN

FILMIN

We are happy to share that GRAIN is now available in FILMIN, a spanish streaming platform!

While waiting to have the documentary available in many other countries, we invite our friends who are currently living in Spain to watch the documentary and share their feedback on FILMIN, IMDb and Letterboxd. This only if the feedback is positive, otherwise please don't bother .-)

Synopsis:

These days, everyone’s shooting analog.
Whether it is a fashion house seeking out "new” creative or an amateur perusing eBay, analog film photography has piqued the interest (and search history) of people everywhere.
Is this resurgence a backlash against digital photography? Or simply put, is it a trend perpetuated by our desire for authenticity in an increasingly inauthentic world?
GRAIN is a documentary that explores the stories of those committed to using analog film in modern day photography.

Filmmakers' note:

After having spent so much money and time photographing in analog ourselves we began to question why. Why were we making the choice of going for the harder and most expensive way of photographing? Why were we choosing to use an older technology and ditch the benefits of digital. Were we really disregarding those benefits? Doesn't it all end up on Instagram anyways?
As we entertained these ideas in our head we realized that it didn't really matter what two random guys thought about it, we wanted to understand the bigger picture. If we were interested in understanding this, more people had to be as well. The perfect pretext for making a movie about something.
We started gathering different points of views from relevant photographers and institutions and went for a combination of cinéma vérité and cinematic shots to capture the attention of the viewer while showing the ins and outs of this multifaceted practice in real world scenarios.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain

GRAIN at Medium Photo

Excited to announce that GRAIN will be part of the 2023 Medium Photo Festival in San Diego, CA.

Digital Gym Cinema

THURSDAY, APRIL 6TH AND SATURDAY APRIL 8TH, 7:00 PM
1100 MARKET ST 2ND FLOOR, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101

 

Synopsis:

These days, everyone’s shooting analog.
Whether it is a fashion house seeking out "new” creative or an amateur perusing eBay, analog film photography has piqued the interest (and search history) of people everywhere.
Is this resurgence a backlash against digital photography? Or simply put, is it a trend perpetuated by our desire for authenticity in an increasingly inauthentic world?
GRAIN is a documentary that explores the stories of those committed to using analog film in modern day photography.

Filmmakers' note:

After having spent so much money and time photographing in analog ourselves we began to question why. Why were we making the choice of going for the harder and most expensive way of photographing? Why were we choosing to use an older technology and ditch the benefits of digital. Were we really disregarding those benefits? Doesn't it all end up on Instagram anyways?
As we entertained these ideas in our head we realized that it didn't really matter what two random guys thought about it, we wanted to understand the bigger picture. If we were interested in understanding this, more people had to be as well. The perfect pretext for making a movie about something.
We started gathering different points of views from relevant photographers and institutions and went for a combination of cinéma vérité and cinematic shots to capture the attention of the viewer while showing the ins and outs of this multifaceted practice in real world scenarios.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain

Sony World Photography Awards

I am excited to announce that the project Therapy has been shortlisted in the Professional Competition - Creative, of the Sony World Photography Competition Award 2023

About the project:

‘There are more self-storage facilities in America than there are McDonald's restaurants’

As human beings, we have developed a tendency to form strong bonds to our possessions, this phenomenon is commonly known as the ‘Endowment Effect’. This inherent mechanism drives us to hold onto things, by creating justifications for retaining items, or provoking frustration, sadness, or even anxiety when we try to let go of them.

Saving every single object is for me the first step of a possible collection: notebooks, cans, stuffed animals, receipts, batteries, or parts of myself like teeth, hair, and nails, just to mention a few. I give my hoarding ‘sense’ by organizing my possessions into catalogs and series. I do that so I can tell myself I’m not a hoarder, I’m a collector.

Taking pictures is my way of celebrating detachment and to accept to let possessions go, it is my Therapy. I turn objects into images, images into films so I never remain empty-handed.

The project Therapy is my own process of using photography as a remedy to my obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Next New York

I am grateful to be part of this very interesting book by Mona El Khafif and Seth McDowell. Here is a selection of images from the pandemic that have been included in the book for a photographic essay.

Closing, Quarantining, Delivering, Re-opening, Protesting.

Next New York
(Next Cities Series)

Over the last 500 years, a range of innovative, responsive, and pragmatic civic actions have helped to generate, define, and maintain New York City’s global significance.

From early on much of these actions were responses to population density and the accompanying challenges for health and well-being. Approaching its next growth cycle, New York is again amid important urban transformations that demand new urban and architectural models that allow for an open city to balance gentrification, and to address a lack of public spaces, social infrastructure, and affordable housing. These challenges and their architectural and urban implications are the focus of Next New York. The book captures the city’s current momentum through the lens of three important urban actions: sharing, connecting, and partnering.

Through 10 essays from scholars and practitioners working on pressing urban issues, a photographic essay portraying New York during COVID-19, and more than 35 design projects from graduate studios at the Universityof Virginia’s School of Architecture, Next New York reflects, comments, and speculates on New York City’s capacity to bring about new conceptions of city-making and collective cohabitation through architecture.

GRAIN at SDFF

We are excited to announce that GRAIN will be part of the official selection of the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival

RIALTO CINEMAS

SATURDAY, MARCH 8TH, 2023 AT 11.00 AM
6868 MCKINLEY ST, SEBASTOPOL, CA 95472

 

Synopsis:

These days, everyone’s shooting analog.
Whether it is a fashion house seeking out "new” creative or an amateur perusing eBay, analog film photography has piqued the interest (and search history) of people everywhere.
Is this resurgence a backlash against digital photography? Or simply put, is it a trend perpetuated by our desire for authenticity in an increasingly inauthentic world?
GRAIN is a documentary that explores the stories of those committed to using analog film in modern day photography.

Filmmakers' note:

After having spent so much money and time photographing in analog ourselves we began to question why. Why were we making the choice of going for the harder and most expensive way of photographing? Why were we choosing to use an older technology and ditch the benefits of digital. Were we really disregarding those benefits? Doesn't it all end up on Instagram anyways?
As we entertained these ideas in our head we realized that it didn't really matter what two random guys thought about it, we wanted to understand the bigger picture. If we were interested in understanding this, more people had to be as well. The perfect pretext for making a movie about something.
We started gathering different points of views from relevant photographers and institutions and went for a combination of cinéma vérité and cinematic shots to capture the attention of the viewer while showing the ins and outs of this multifaceted practice in real world scenarios.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain

GRAIN at DART

We are excited to announce that GRAIN will be part of the official selection of DART Film Festival in Santiago, Chile

CINÉPOLIS CASA COSTANERA

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022 AT 20.00 PM
NUEVA COSTANERA 3900, VITACURA, REGIÓN METROPOLITANA, CHILE

 

Synopsis (ES):

Hoy en día, el mundo del arte está obsesionado con las imágenes analógicas. Ya sea que se trate de una casa de moda que busca aportar una nueva ventaja a su trabajo creativo, un aficionado que busca en eBay la Polaroid vintage perfecta o un influencer que intenta capturar una estética retro para las redes sociales, la fotografía analógica ha despertado el interés de personas de todo el mundo. ¿Es este resurgimiento una reacción contra la fotografía digital? ¿Es solo una tendencia perpetuada por nuestro deseo de autenticidad en un mundo cada vez más superficial? ¿O es algo completamente diferente?

GRAIN es un documental de Alex Contell y Tommaso Sacconi que explora las historias de aquellos comprometidos con el uso de películas en la fotografía moderna.

Synopsis (EN):

These days, everyone’s shooting analog.
Whether it is a fashion house seeking out "new” creative or an amateur perusing eBay, analog film photography has piqued the interest (and search history) of people everywhere.
Is this resurgence a backlash against digital photography? Or simply put, is it a trend perpetuated by our desire for authenticity in an increasingly inauthentic world?
GRAIN is a documentary by Tommaso Sacconi and Alex Contell that explores the stories of those committed to using analog film in modern day photography.

Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell

Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain