Tony Costa, AIP sent this report and slideshow about his view of Microsalon Italia. Tony is a cinematographer who lives in Portugal and manages the Imago website.
Microsalon Italia 2016
The fourth edition of Microsalon Italia was an absolute success. By evaluating it from the point of view of the number of attendees who packed the house on Saturday from morning to close, it was impressive. The exhibitors displays were also impressive. It was possible to experiment in one place all the state-of-the-art technology. There was a great effort made by the companies to display their best products. Russian arms, camera trucks, cranes that were widely presented right at the entrance next to LED lighting, cameras, lenses, rigs, soft boxes and the whole lot needed for a shoot was shown at the Italian event. The AIC and its president Daniele Nannuzzi and his team led by Simone must be proud of the results. There was a good sense of comradery that is always appreciated by the exhibitors are not only for looking for business but are always willing to make acquaintances and distribute business cards with pride of their equipment and the companies that they work for.
The Microsalon Italia is at the moment the great yearly event of the AIC (Association of Italian Cinematographers). After the financial collapse from internal scandals, the Italian Society of Cinematographers is now recovering from the ashes and is getting slowly back on track. It is not only the society that is now breathing better economically but it is now back in good spirits, willing to open its doors wider than ever to new members and to promote even more the art of cinematography. The authorship rights are the main goal of the society as it is indeed of IMAGO.
This was the main subject in presenting IMAGO to the Italian cinematographers and aspiring ones. Luciano Tovoli AIC presented to packed audience in the huge room the historical grounds of the creation of IMAGO. President Paul Renè Roestad FNF then gave a summary of the activities of the federation. Tony Costa presented the website and Vittorio Storaro AIC ASC closed the panel by presenting and justifying the reasons for the cinematographer to deserve to be recognized as a co-author of the film.
The Microsalon was held this year for the first time at the premises of the film school (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia) not far from the legendary Cinecittá studios. The location is diverse and permitted visitors to go to all booths in different areas. On Saturday the sun was shining beautifully, giving a nice impression of the arrival of spring.
In the school we could see displayed on the walls of the corridors a number of black and white pictures taken during the great period of Italian cinema. In the center there is a well and a garden. There was an exhibition about Pier Paolo Passolini behind the stage.
There were several seminars and panel discussions for packed audiences.
It was a great success for those who made the effort to be exhibit at the show and for those who came as attendees. We immensely enjoyed the time, it was well worth the trip.
Photos and text by Tony Costa, aip
