Il materiale cinematografico come patrimonio ottico e fotochimico

In the museum context, the industrial and technological dimension of cinema has been the least considered in the practices of valorization and exhibition of cinematographic heritage since the tripartition introduced by Henri Langlois for the Cinémathèque française (1936). Only in recent years has this marginality been questioned, starting with the «material turn,» which has highlighted the functionality of films, ephemera, and cinematographic equipment in exploring the relationships between collecting, museums, and the material culture of cinema. Through studies conducted in the Prin 2022 MOV.I.E. research project, this paper aims to explore how a «non-cinema» museum, such as the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, has developed its collection of «fotocinematografia» over time. This collection is both rich and heterogenous, with optical and photochemical recording and processing properties as a unifying theme. Starting with a specific case study – the Cesare Saska collection of post-production tools from the 1970s – this study will examine the practical and theoretical approaches that guide the heuristic approach to the object and its inclusion in the collection, considering the unique perspective of a museum not primarily devoted to the Seventh Art, despite its historical connection to it.