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Matinee: 'Stefano Santucci'
10 May 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 603rd in our series of Saturday matinees today: Stefano Santucci.
Stefano Santucci is an Italian documentary photographer based in Florence, Italy. After studying nonverbal behavior and facial expressions in children at the University of Florence, he opened a photography studio in 2010, choosing to pursue his passion for visual storytelling over a career in psychology. His approach "blends a documentary approach with artistic sensitivity."
In this 3:20 video shot on 16mm film, he tells us about his approach to the craft. And it's an unusual one. He thinks of it as therapy, he says, "pure inner exploration."
Which may sound odd for a wedding and portrait photographer, a people person traditionally, but this self-described introvert makes it work.
"In summer, I quietly tell love stories by immersing myself in the feelings of strangers, interpreting their lives through my own sensitivity," he says. "In winter, on the other hand, I find energy in solitude photographing empty places that evoke absent presences."
There's one thing that makes this work, he adds. He shoots film.
"Film allowed me to slow down and deepen my observation," he says. "Through film, I discovered my rhythm. In the darkroom, while developing, printing and scanning, I rediscover slow gestures and manual rituals. These meditative repetitions have helped me find myself again."
You can't say that about scrolling and clicking.