The Camera Obscura Movement is an artistic collaboration between Ile Dell’Unti and Franco Palazzo, who met while studying at the La Plata National University and began working together several years later. Their artistic practice is situated on the border between cinema and contemporary art. The movement was created as an experiment, driven by a shared interest in the exploration of landscape and its perceptual dimensions, and in response to the severe political, social, and ecological crisis produced by capitalism and the paralyzing effects of constant digital overstimulation. A working platform that combines collective creation, handcrafted processes, and formal experimentation, bringing together cinematic and visual practices within a shared research framework.
For several years, Ile’s practice has focused on investigating landscape at the intersection of territory, memory, and identity. This research led to her most recent feature film, A While at the Border (2024) premiered at Doc Buenos Aires, IDFA, and Punto de Vista, with Franco serving as director of photography. Her other films have been screened at numerous international festivals, including BAFICI, Doclisboa, FICUNAM, and FICIC. Her video installations have been exhibited in museums, biennials, and galleries across Argentina, including the Rosa Galisteo Museum, the René Brusau Museum, and the Bienal de la Imagen en Movimiento. She has participated in several national art awards, including the 101st National Salon of Santa Fe, the National Arts Fund Award (receiving a distinction in 2022), and the 2021 Fundación OSDE Argentine Visual Arts Award, where she received First Prize for the installation Oración a San Juan. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Arts at the National University of La Plata, Argentina. More information about her work can be found on the website: www.iledellunti.com
Franco Palazzo is a filmmaker, cinematographer, colorist, and university lecturer. In 2016, he wrote and directed The Distance, his debut feature film, which premiered at the 21st edition of BAFICI. He has also created full-dome works for the La Plata Planetarium and 360-degree recordings for the “Musicalizadas” section of FestiFreak. Since 2010, he has developed an extensive career as a cinematographer and colorist, contributing to more than twenty feature films, television series, and music videos. Between 2018 and 2022, he served as Head of the Audiovisual Arts Department at the Faculty of Arts of the National University of La Plata (UNLP). Since 2023, he has been developing Landscape Impressions, a project that constructs audiovisual representations of natural and urban landscapes through pinhole video techniques and field sound recordings. His audiovisual work Where Specters Are Born, created in collaboration with Ile for a site-specific installation at the Ensenada Film Festival, was selected for the Molina Campos Provincial Visual Arts Salon in 2024. More information about his work can be found on the website: www.francopalazzo.com.ar