Shooting Film
I am grateful that the project Therapy is a case study in the book Shooting Film by Ben Hawkins & Liza Kanaeva-Hunsicker (Hachette 2022).
Film photography is back with a bang, and whether you're returning to the genre after switching to digital, or you've just discovered this amazing medium, there's never been a more compelling argument for going analogue with your photography.
In a world where we are bombarded with visual imagery, making your photos stand out from the crowd is getting harder by the day, but film will give you that edge - and let you discover a whole new way of shooting in the process.
In this in-depth and inspirational guide, photography journalist Ben Hawkins and pro photographer Liza Kanaeva-Hunsicker reveal the techniques, tips and secrets for success when shooting film.
GRAIN at BFF
We are excited to announce that GRAIN will be part of the official selection of the Brooklyn Film Festival
UNION DOCS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2022 AT 6:30 PM
322 UNION AVE, BROOKLYN, NY 11211
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: Analog Renaissance - Trailer
GRAIN: Analog renaissance is a documentary that explores the stories of those committed to using film in modern day photography.
These days, everyone’s shooting analog. Whether it is a fashion house seeking out “new” creative or an amateur perusing eBay, 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?
ROTTERDAM PHOTO FAIR XL 2022
The Project THERAPY will be part of the Rotterdam Photo Fair XL 2022 from May 18th - 22nd.
Willemsplein 85 - 3016 DR Rotterdam
OPENING HOURS:
Wednesday: 6.30 PM - 9 PM
Thursday: 11 AM - 8 PM
Friday: 11 AM - 8 PM
Saturday: 10 AM - 8 PM
Sunday: 12 AM - 6 PM
About Rotterdam Photo
Rotterdam Photo is an annual photo fair with a festival flair. The event celebrates the spectrum of contemporary photography in all its diversity.
Being part of the Rotterdam Art Week, the event yearly attracts around 10.000 visitors, among whom art lovers, collectors, gallerists, as well as international art press professionals from different parts of the globe.
About the Project THERAPY
Tommaso Sacconi is a photographer and a collector. Ever since he can remember, he has been collecting everything, particularly his own things as a sort of memorial. Saving every single object is for him the first step of a possible collection: notebooks, cans, stuffed animals, receipts, batteries, or parts of himself like teeth, hair, and nails, just to mention some of them.
It started with him collecting memories and things that he was emotionally attached to, and it developed into an obsession to pile up ordinary objects in series.
The only complication he has is the space. Collecting requires a lot of physical and mental space, which led him to find ways to let things go. Tommaso has realized that, to be able to throw anything away, he first needs to celebrate the detachment by taking pictures of it. The composition is the result of the entire process, the image is the purpose to achieve. By then, he convinces himself that what he has collected will somehow survive, especially using films as they don’t leave him empty-handed. The project “Therapy” is photography used as a remedy to his addiction.
GRAIN at FREEP
We are excited to announce that GRAIN will be part of the official selection of the FREEP Film Festival, Detroit.
MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER - TOYOTA THEATER
SATURDAY, APR 30, 2022 AT 1:30 PM
5020 JOHN R ST, DETROIT, MI 48202
About the special events connected to this film
Freep Film Festival and Darkroom Detroit, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to increasing photography access, education and visual literacy in Detroit, are partnering for a special program in conjunction with the Michigan premiere of “Grain.”
Immediately following the “Grain” screening at 1:30 p.m. Sat., April 30, at the Michigan Science Center, festivalgoers are encouraged to join Darkroom Detroit and “Grain” filmmakers Alex Contell and Tommaso Sacconi on a photo walk around Midtown Detroit.
In addition, a limited number of attendees will receive a free disposable camera and admission to a photo developing workshop led the next day by Darkroom Detroit.
A select number of photographs made by the participants in the film processing workshop will be published in the Sunday Free Press and on freep.com later in the month of May.
There are three ticketing choices for the “Grain”-connected events. Please read and choose carefully. Because the workshop seats are limited, we ask that you not reserve tickets if you’re not reasonably certain you’ll attend. The ticket links are at right.
Explaining the three distinct tickets:
Note that the film screening time is at the same time and same place for all three tickets, as is the photo walk. Only the workshop details change.
“Grain”: This ticket includes admission to the screening. You are also welcome to attend the post-film photo walk that immediately follows. If you have your own film camera, bring it along. Film will also be available for sale. This ticket does not include the workshop or a free disposable camera.
“Grain” + free disposable camera and Darkroom Detroit workshop #1: A purchase of this ticket to the film screening includes registration to a separate – and free – film processing workshop hosted by Darkroom Detroit from 10 a.m.-noon Sunday, May 1, at 8869 Avis Unit 2 in southwest Detroit. You will also receive a free disposable camera when you arrive at the Saturday film screening that can be used for the photo walk and the workshop. Spots in the workshop are limited, as are the free cameras.
“Grain” + free disposable camera and Darkroom Detroit workshop #2: A purchase of this ticket to the film screening includes registration to a separate – and free – film processing workshop hosted by Darkroom Detroit from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, May 1, at 8869 Avis Unit 2 in southwest Detroit. You will also receive a free disposable camera when you arrive at the Saturday film screening that can be used for the photo walk and the workshop. Spots in the workshop are limited, as are the free cameras.
About the film:
Featuring professional and amateur photographers, film lab technicians, community organizations, educators, and even Kodak and Lomography representatives, GRAIN explores the stories of those committed to using physical film in the digital era. Whether it is a fashion house seeking out artistic collaborations or an amateur perusing eBay for old film stock, the growing interest in analog photography, which was unthinkable ten years ago, is now a full-fledged phenomenon worthy of a film of its own.
Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell
Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain
GRAIN at MKE Film Fest
We are excited to announce that GRAIN will be part of the official selection of the Milwaukee Film Festival
ORIENTAL THEATRE: LUBAR CINEMA
SATURDAY, APR 23, 2022 AT 7:30 PM
2230 N FARWELL AVE, MILWAUKEE, WI 53202
TIMES CINEMA
TUESDAY, MAY 3,2022 AT 1:00 PM
5906 W VLIET ST, MILWAUKEE, WI 53208
Featuring professional and amateur photographers, film lab technicians, community organizations, educators, and even Kodak and Lomography representatives, GRAIN explores the stories of those committed to using physical film in the digital era. Whether it is a fashion house seeking out artistic collaborations or an amateur perusing eBay for old film stock, the growing interest in analog photography, which was unthinkable ten years ago, is now a full-fledged phenomenon worthy of a film of its own.
Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell
Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain
UNITED PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR UKRAINE
Happy to be part of this project!
4ukraine.perimetro.eu
#unitedphotographersforukraine
March 18th - 31st
@perimetro__ @liveinslums
@perimetro__ and @liveinslums invited Italian and international contemporary fashion, art, architecture and portrait photography to donate one of their pictures to support Kyiv’s Children's Hospital (Ohmadyt) and the International Red Cross.
Each picture will be purchasable online for €100 will be printed in A4 format on Fine Arts Paper. The proceeds will be donated to support the Ukrainian aid network, excluding printing and shipping costs.
The campaign is supported by @base_milano which houses the project’s headquarters, by @fontegrafica_ who will take care of printing images, by the @4Sigmaengieneering that will develop the online system; by the PRs @luisabertoldo @biancamariabertolissi @mariaelenabarbati @alessiarizzetto_pr and the many ambassadors that will help us share this campaign.
GRAIN at CIFF 46
We are excited to announce that the documentary GRAIN will be part of the official selection of the CIFF 46 Cleveland International Film Festival
WESTFIELD STUDIO THEATRE
SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 2022 AT 7.20PM
MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022 AT 11.55AM
1375 EUCLID AVENUE CLEVELAND, OHIO 44103
Digital photography, with its sharper edges, higher definition, and instant gratification, dramatically changed the way we capture and consume the imagery in front of us. But these “perfect” shots we see on our phones—in a world more distorted than ever—may be doing us all a great disservice. Millennials worldwide, whose childhoods were slowly overrun by all-things-digital and looming screen time addictions, are driving the return to film photography and the need for a slowdown. Film photographers praise the analog process of the good ol’ days for its deliberate, intentional, and creative techniques. While shooting, the focus remains on what they see through their lens instead of the camera’s display screen. Hours spent in the darkroom, meticulously laboring by hand over each detail of their prints, allows room for more personal creativity. Now, with more people craving real over flawless, the documentary GRAIN captures how shooting analog brings passionate photographers joy as artists and how the uniqueness of film may be here to stay. —A.B.
Directors
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell
Producers
Tommaso Sacconi, Alex Contell, Raja Sethuraman, Magnus Andersson, Alain Sylvain
GRAIN at ICP
Join us for a special screening of the documentary GRAIN at the International Center of Photography ICP
ICP Library
MARCH 6, 2022 (3PM – 5PM )
79 ESSEX ST, NEW YORK, NY 10002
Join us at ICP for a special screening of GRAIN, a 2021 documentary that tells the stories of the photographers that are driving the cultural movement of analog photography in a digitally dominated industry. The film features ICP as well as renowned photographers Daniel Arnold, Andre D. Wagner, Bruce Gilden, Alec Soth and Viktor Vauthier, along with institutions Kodak and the Penumbra Foundation. After the screening, the film’s directors, Alex Contell and Tommaso Sacconi, will do a Q&A and discuss the making of the film.
This program takes place in the ICP library and is free with museum admission.
About
GRAIN explores the lingering love for film photography in a digital world. Featuring renowned photographers like Daniel Arnold, Andre D. Wagner, Bruce Gilden, Alec Soth and Viktor Vauthier, and leading institutions like The International Center of Photography (ICP), Kodak, and the Penumbra Foundation, this documentary digs into the resurgence of analog photography. Is it just a backlash against digital art and culture today, or something else entirely?
Event Price
This program is free with museum admission.
GRAIN at DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE
It’s been four years in the making and we can finally say that GRAIN, our documentary about the renaissance of analog photography, is complete.
Better yet, we’re excited to announce that it’ll be making its official debut to the world on November 15th, when it premiers at the DOC NYC Festival.
IFC Center
NOVEMBER 15TH, 2021 AT 6.50PM
323 6TH AVE, NEW YORK, NY 10014
CINÉPOLIS CHELSEA
NOVEMBER 17TH, 2021 AT 9.45PM
260 W 23RD ST, NEW YORK, NY 10011
Featuring professional and amateur photographers, film lab technicians, community organizations, ICP educators, and even Kodak and Lomography representatives, Grain explores the stories of those committed to using real, physical film in the digital era. Whether it is a fashion house seeking out artistic collaborations or an amateur perusing eBay for old film stock, the growing interest in analog photography, which was unthinkable 10 years ago, is now a full-fledged phenomenon worthy of a film of its own. – Ruth Somalo
his screening will be followed by a Q&A with Directors Tommaso Sacconi and Alex Contell. (11/15 and 11/17 @ 9:45 PM only)
Arte Laguna Prize
Arte Laguna Prize 15
Grateful to be part of the 120 artists that exhibit at the Arsenale of Venice from October 2 to October 24, 2021.
Hair (a) Getting grey.
Collection of hair from different cuts
2013 - 2017
Rome / Cairo / New York
35mm film B/W
ARSENALE DI VENEZIA
FROM OCTOBER 2ND TO OCTOBER 24TH
30122 VENICE, METROPOLITAN CITY OF VENICE, ITALY
I am a collector.
Ever since I can remember, I have been collecting everything, particularly my own things as a sort of memorial. 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 some of them.
To keep and catalog objects has always given me pleasure. It started with me collecting memories and things that I was emotionally attached to, and it developed into an obsession to pile up ordinary objects in series. The only complication I have is the space. Collecting requires a lot of physical and mental space, which led me to find ways to let things go.
I have realized that, to be able to throw anything away, I first need to celebrate the detachment by taking pictures of it. The composition is the result of the entire process, the image is the purpose to achieve. By then, I convince myself that what I have collected will somehow survive, especially using films as they don't leave me empty-handed.
The project Therapy is photography used as a remedy to an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Marco Anelli: Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramović
I am honored to have contributed to this beautiful book.
Editor and Book Design Tommaso Sacconi
This new edition of Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramović by Marco Anelli includes unreleased archival photographs of the performance, behind-the-scene moments of Marina Abramović and a new selection of portraits in a renewed book design.
© Damiani 2021
© Photographs, Marco Anelli
© Texts: Marina Abramović; Klaus Biesenbach; Chrissie Iles
Following the great success of the first edition of 'Portraits in the presence of Marina Abramović', Marco Anelli reissues a new edition of this acclaimed publication. This remastered edition includes never before seen archival photographs of the behind-the-scene moments of the artist in preparation for the performance.
Alongside her retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Marina Abramović staged a performance of three months in the central atrium. Inside a delineated space, visitors from the public were invited to sit in a chair opposite to her and exchange eye contact. The performance drew out a visceral emotional response, captured by Anelli from a distance. The sitters were frequent museum visitors, as well as renown artists, actors and musicians, including Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Björk, Sharon Stone, James Franco, and others. The result was an international sensation around the work and the photographs, which were published by the museum on a daily basis.
To realize this project, Anelli had also spent over 716 hours in the museum, meticulously making portraits of Abramović, each individual sitting across from her, and noting the duration of each exchange. These photographs function as the primary representation of this seminal work of performance in the 21st century, and chronicle an unforgettable moment in the history of art.
Confini Aperti
The project Closed is in the book Confini Aperti, published by the TWM Factory.
The pandemic, the sudden shutdown of the stores. The signs of an economic crisis, the loss of jobs and the first barricades, which then became a new urban landscape. A changing landscape that has been able to collect and tell a unique historical moment and a New York never seen before.
Thank you to TWM magazine and Ginevra Corso
Tohoku
I am honored that the project Tohoku has been published in the volume Chromantic by Exhibit Around / dotART association
On March 11th 2011, Japan stops. The great tsunami that hit Tōhoku coast is an indelible memory. Since then, in these places, many volunteers have plumbed and removed mountains of debris. The many objects found have been cleaned and cataloged in hopes they will return one day to their owners. Other than that, geometries and patterns of interior residential floors have gradually re-emerged.
These images are 'scans' of what remain of Ōtsuchi, a little town of the Tohoku coast, one year after the great tsunami of 2011.
Many thanks to the Caritas Japan, to the professor Ikuo Kobayashi and to Exhibit Around / dotART cultural association.
Booooooom - Small Victories
I am honored that a photo of mine has been included in the book Small Victories published by Booooooom.
A collection of images celebrating the beauty of everyday life, featuring the work of 50 photographers.
Shots Magazine
A photo of mine has been included in the SHOTS Magazine N.148
SHOTS Magazine is an independent, reader-supported journal of eclectic fine art photography now in its 34th year of publication. SHOTS is known for its democratic presentation of work by a variety of photographers from around the world and reaches a wide, international audience that includes not only emerging and established photographers, but also educators, galleries, museums, collectors and other fine art photography enthusiasts.
Delivery Bikers
Delivery Bikers
Plastic bags as hand protection against cold and rain, bright cubic backpacks and bikes' frames wrapped in tape.
Since New York City was hit by the effects of Covid-19, delivery bikers have been working non-stop. In a moment when few could leave their apartments, they have become the front line of the pandemic, exposed to the disease almost as much as healthcare workers.
Proud to work in such a difficult time and helping in a crucial way, delivery bikers are the reason many businesses are still surviving.
From the middle of March 2020, I started to portray them at work.
In una New York provata dagli effetti del Covid-19, tra i pochi a lavorare senza tregua ci sono i delivery bikers.
Impossibile fare a meno di loro, soprattutto in un momento in cui pochi vogliono o possono uscire di casa. In città li si vede sfrecciare ovunque e a tutte le ore.
A metà marzo ho iniziato a ritrarre i delivery in maniera seriale, rigorosamente a lavoro. Annoto nome, nazionalità e un contatto, così da poter inviare loro la foto. Con alcuni di loro rimango in contatto.
Molti sono giovanissimi e fanno questo lavoro da poco, spesso per aiutare le attività di parenti o amici. Altri sono professionisti. Li si riconosce dalle bici e dalle protezioni contro freddo e pioggia: infinite buste di plastica e guantoni foderati di scotch intorno al manubrio.
È anche grazie al loro lavoro se NY mantiene un’apparente tranquillità.
Portinerie Romane - Zine
The project Portinerie Romane become a limited edition Zine of 200 copies.
Ampie vetrine, vecchie scrivanie, piccole feritoie e architetture concepite come acquari umani. Catalogo di portinerie d'autore e non, delle palazzine romane.
Spacious windows, antiquated desks, compact passageways and architecture designed to resemble an aquarium.
Portinerie Romane is an exploration of a lesser-known aspect of roman architecture, highlighting the artistry as well as the ingenuity that went into the design of these structures that play an important role in contemporary daily life.
Conceived as a photographic catalog of the most remarkable roman gatehouses, Portinerie Romane is a project by Tommaso Sacconi and Giulia Carioti, curated by Andrea Bentivegna.
In January 2019, after several years in the making, the work has been presented at Centro Studi Giorgio Muratore, Rome (IT)
Portinerie Romane - Exhibition
The project Portinerie Romane become will exhibit at Centro Studi Giorgio Muratore on January 10th 2019.
Appuntamento al Centro Studi Giorgio Muratore per raccontare l’insolita storia delle portinerie romane nel progetto di Giulia Carioti e Tommaso Sacconi.
Una narrazione diversa della città e delle sue palazzine viste attraverso lo sguardo dei loro portieri, personaggi e testimoni fondamentali della storia e persino della cinematografia. Con il contributo di Miriam Ciamarone e Domenico Calabrese e a cura di Andrea Bentivegna.
Ampie vetrine, vecchie scrivanie, piccole feritoie e architetture concepite come acquari umani. Catalogo di portinerie d'autore e non, delle palazzine romane.
Spacious windows, antiquated desks, compact passageways and architecture designed to resemble an aquarium.
Portinerie Romane is an exploration of a lesser-known aspect of roman architecture, highlighting the artistry as well as the ingenuity that went into the design of these structures that play an important role in contemporary daily life.
Conceived as a photographic catalog of the most remarkable roman gatehouses, Portinerie Romane is a project by Tommaso Sacconi and Giulia Carioti, curated by Andrea Bentivegna.