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Matinee: 'Vittorio'
25 January 2025
Saturday matinees long ago let us escape from the ordinary world to the island of the Swiss Family Robinson or the mutinous decks of the Bounty. Why not, we thought, escape the usual fare here with Saturday matinees of our favorite photography films?
So we're pleased to present the 588th in our series of Saturday matinees today: Vittorio.
This 3:47 video by Anna Checola pays homage to Vittorio Sella, the photographer and alpinist who died in 1943 after capturing some of the finest images of mountains ever made.
Using his original photographs, rare archival footage and contemporary clips, this short film "paints an emotional portrait of a man who turned photography into a tool for exploration and memory."
Born in Biella in the foothills of the Alps, Sella became interested in Alpinism through his uncle Quintino Sella. He made a number of important climbs in the Alps, including the first winter ascents of the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa and the first winter traverse of Mont Blanc. Sella continued to climb into his old age, making his last attempt on the Matterhorn at 76. The attempt failed when one of his guides was injured in an accident.
He used bulky 30×40cm photographic plates for his photography, modifying pack saddles and rucksacks to carry the large glass plates safely.
After once seeing 31 photos that Sella had presented to the U.S. Sierra Club, Ansel Adams remarked that they inspired "a definitely religious awe."
In the video the voice over by Alessop Zamproni speaking for Sella describes being born into a rich family but becoming interested in something else. That was his uncle Quintino's mountaineering. And when he saw what a camera could do, he wanted to photograph all the mountains he had fallen in love with. They weren't just landscapes, they were portraits of the emotions. They spoke his language.
And to think he did all this over 80 years ago with equipment no one would touch (or could even carry) today makes it all the more remarkable.