This is an unpublished project premiered today on C41 Magazine.
Federico Possati was born in Italy in 1988. In 2016 he graduated from Columbia University in Film and Media Studies. During the program he got close to the photography department, where he worked as a TA and darkroom monitor for his staying in school. After moving in New York in 2012, he has been working as a freelance photographer, filmmaker, and video editor collaborating to various independent productions and on personal projects.
In 2016 he completed his first short documentary, Paolo Pelosini: Death is my last chance, which was a shortlisted at the SESIFF festival and at the New Filmmakers LA. His photographic book, TIAMTU, was shortlisted at the FUAM Instambul Photbook Festival in 2019, and he is currently completing his first narrative short film, BIRDS!, which is planned to be released in 2020.
He moved to Milan in 2020 where he still lives. He currently works a videomaker and commercial photographer.
Federico’s work draws inspiration from the ordinary, the lives of people surrounding him. He captures and steels moments of truth from the lives of others and edits them in new narratives, favoring a storytelling approach.
About ‘To Think I Almost Missed You’ – words by Federico Possati:
“To Think I Almost Missed You” is my farewell letter to New York City, my home for the last 8 years. Upon the imminence of my departure, I felt prompted to attempt in capturing the essence of this place. The project consists in a series of black and white extreme close-ups taken in Times Square throughout the course of several months. The photos depict a very limited world, as they are framed very tightly on the subjects. They do not give the viewer too many details about where we are or what is going on in the environment, but rather depict snippets of life, facial expressions and small gestures that would otherwise get lost amidst the chaos.
It is not a project about Times Square per se, but Times square becomes a precious location as the confusion, the noise and the constant flow of people populating it make it representative of a larger context. After all, a place where everybody is constantly photographing and looking at everything that surrounds them can look a lot like a place where no one is watching or paying really attention to their surroundings. The unstoppable crowd creates a sort of perfect anonymity where, surprisingly, intimacy thrives.
Here the tele-lens works as a magnifying glass, revealing all the small things that are so easy for the naked eye to miss. It is a hunt for the unlikely, for those moments of vulnerability and honesty that can hardly be associated with a crowd, with Times Square, and perhaps more in general, with New York as well.
