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• The Impossible Project - english version

di Daniele Federico

Many photographers — professional and otherwise — are all but sold on the demise of instant photography, and indeed the entire sector is now concentrated on digital photography. Big companies are quickly and consistently leaving behind traditional film in all its forms.
But a group of photo-industry veterans have refused. Instead, they want to revitalize the market for the one, film-based instant format par excellence: Polaroid.
Less than a year ago came the official announcement: Polaroid factories were closing. But now, these entrepreneurs are talking about The Impossible Project: a maybe-crazy but truly appealing business venture.
By 2010, these aficionados plan to re-start the industry and begin manufacturing film for the classic instant cameras. They won’t simply replicate the same Polaroid film as before, but will develop a brand-new product with its own, optimized qualities.
“We bought the old Polaroid equipment, the factory, and now we’re looking for some help.”



Behind the idea is André Bosman, formerly of Polaroid itself, and Florian Kaps, the former manager of the Lomographic Society — an online community of passionate users dedicated to lower-profile older cameras. Along with them are a team of engineers and specialists in analog and instant photography.
The remainder of the team is made up of former Polaroid employees, or consultants to the Polaroid company — people who are especially attached to the Polaroid idea. As for the project’s philosophy, it’s the same as that of Edwin Land (Polaroid’s co-founder): “don’t undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible.”
Florian Kaps has announced that the group already has already secured enough funding to produce a year’s worth of film, and that full-blown serial production can begin within a few years.
“This is the last chance to save another analog device from disappearing — it’s a unique device and it deserves a second chance,” Kaps declared. He’s hoping in a full comeback for the instant camera, much in the same way vinyl has thrived recently thanks to a strong subculture.
There’s no doubt this will be a difficult business to get into, no small thanks to the relentless push towards digital photography, and to the huge drop in equipment price for both amateurs and professionals alike. For amateurs, especially, it could be difficult to convince them of a higher price’s inherent value. But the Impossible Project isn’t exactly targeting the mass market — rather it’s focusing on a particular subset of amateur photographers and passionate collectors.



Another big challenge for the team is to build tools and get materials that will work with the older Polaroid cameras: a lot of the chemical components that made the old film are no longer in production, at least not in mass quantities.
Notwithstanding these big difficulties, we think every passionate fan of analog photography should with this group of film-industry veterans the best of luck. For further information about how to support the project, visit their official site at www.the-impossible-project.com

• The Impossible Project
• The Impossible Project: siamo sulla buona strada
• La magia della Polaroid – convegno e mostra a Bibbiena (AR)
• Le Polaroid di Andy Warhol

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