Gian Luigi Carminati is a passionate and poetic 76 years old man who spent his entire life repairing cameras.
In his small workshop in Milan he takes care of old cameras with just a set of screwdrivers and a lot of patience.
We spotted his workshop randomly, we just passed by his shop and we got curious since we saw so many old cameras on display.
We got the chance to spend some time with him and he was happy to share with us topics like why the analog is still better than the digital, his 60 years old long relationship with photography and how technology shaped the approach to this art.
Gian Luigi was happy to share with us lots of memories about his life and his job. We got immediately fascinated by his words and we decided to make a video with a ‘poetic touch’, that is keeping the poetry of his words and shop intact.
His analog way of life is so inspiring. He doesn’t have a website, doesn’t use a mobile phone, his store doesn’t have a proper sign and he’s never advertised his activity.
His only advertising is the word of mouth. And his business is very solid.
Thanks to him we have realized that living the analog way is much easer than we think. And, with no doubt, it is the key to happiness.
His work is very difficult and there is no software, no internet page, no company training that can give to an individual such an expertise as Gian Luigi’s. This is not a job: it is a passion that changes a man’s life and gives him a lot of joy even by mentioning it. We love capturing this sort of spirit and we felt that Gian Luigi has inspired us in so many ways.
We were deeply touched by these thoughts about photography coming from a self described ‘technician’ instead of a photographer.
With this two minutes video we had the ambition to tell his life through his memories.
Master of Camera has been officially selected for the 2018 Seattle Technology Documentary Festival
Directed by: David Drills
Written by: Chiara Porro and David Drills
Edited by: Didier Tommasi
Graded by: Alessandro Siano