One of the family
Ermanno Olmi, the memory of one of our people
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Edison was my whole world. We really felt that the company was one big family, and when we were together, we felt like part of a whole. Edison was part of my life for a long time, and when I think back on it, I remember it as if it were my homeland.
Ermanno Olmi
The Edison years
Ermanno Olmi came to Edison, the company his mother worked for, in 1947, at a very young age. During his years there, he coordinated the employees’ recreational activities, and he used his first camera, donated by the company, to film the construction of a number of power plants. He directed the company's Cinema Section from 1953 until 1961.
But it was about more than just power stations. At the heart of his work throughout his years at Edison was a commitment to the work of the people, his colleagues.
Our history, through his eyes
Tre fili fino a Milano (Three power lines connected with Milan)
Workers, building a power line at high altitude. Farmers, seeing change come to their valley. The protagonists and, at the same time, the true beneficiaries of the work.
"The people involved in my films are presented in their own skin. I capture people’s spontaneous actions, without the artificial mediation of actors"
La diga del ghiacciaio (The glacier dam)
Morasco Dam, in the upper Formazza Valley. Documenting the daily work of his colleagues as they worry about exploding a mine, or fall silent with nostalgia for distant family members.
"I filmed at the site with my Arri for three weeks back in 1954. Then I added sound to the edited film in the lab, with a television announcer who, after finishing the job, took a copy of The Glacier Dam to RAI, the national television broadcaster. They decided to air it."
La pattuglia del Passo San Giacomo (The San Giacomo Pass patrol)
The accidental interruption of the San Giacomo power line at 220,000 required the intervention of a team of specialised technicians. The director's camera follows the men’s path toward the work site, lingering curiously over the beautiful snow-covered landscapes and depicting the local inhabitants engaged in their daily routines.
"These images tell the story of a minor incident that took place in the upper Formazza Valley in springtime. It is an everyday story, featuring everyday heroes."
Ermanno, one of us
Tickets
It was 2005 when Ermanno Olmi shot the film Tickets, featuring three episodes by different directors all taking place aboard a train, with Abbas Kiarostami and Ken Loach.
And it was this train that brought director back to us: Ermanno Olmi chose to shoot a scene from his film in the Fontana Room of the Edison building. The choice was, he reported, determined 'by the need to come up with an excuse to go back home'.
Il villaggio di cartone (The cardboard village)
The story of a place of desolation that finds new life through brotherhood and hospitality.
In 2011, we financed Ermanno Olmi's film through the Tax Credit scheme.
Torneranno i prati (The meadows will be back)
Ermanno Olmi marked the centennial of the start of the First World War by telling a story about the trenches in the Asiago plateau, where he lived in his final years.
Edison supported the director with sustainable financing for the film, reducing the CO2 emissions produced in the making of the film by 70%.