Two-Blades Shutter for Fumeo: A Story of Generosity.

In 1987, I received a technical masterpiece from Fumeo: the glorious 9145 model, equipped with a 500W xenon lamp. This Super-8 projector, the most powerful ever built, remains a true icon in the history of cinema. At the time, I ordered it with a two-blade shutter, designed for projecting at 24 and 25 frames per second, ensuring a professional and seamless viewing experience.

Big and heavy Fumeo 2-blades shutter

A few years later, thanks to an extraordinarily competitive price offered by Marcello delle Piane, of Fumeo factory in Milano, I acquired a second high performance projector, the Fumeo 9140, fitted with a Marc 300 lamp and a three-blade shutter. This model was perfect for projecting my personal films, shot at 18 fps, without flickering. 

Both machines shared space in the projection booth around ten years, when I replaced the Fumeo 9140 with a Beaulieu Studio HTI. This new projector, with its HTI 250 lamp, provided more light than the Marc 300 at a cost six times lower per hour of projection. Since then, the 9140 was relegated to storage, until last year.

Fumeo 9140 at the VIII edition of Sellier Film Festival

In 2024, I revived the Fumeo 9140 to make use of my big stock of the now-obsolete Marc 300 lamps, for Super-8 projections at the SELLIER FILM FESTIVAL. This festival, renowned for showcasing all cinematic formats (nothing in digital), benefited from the impressive performance of the 9140, which, after two decades of inactivity, proved up to the task. Today, it’s a valued member of the festival’s “mobile fleet.”

Since future festival screenings in Super-8 will be mainly at 24 fps, I reached out to Marco, the guardian of all spare parts for the legendary Milanese brand. Thanks to his dedication, Fumeo projectors continue to operate with original parts decades after their manufacture. I inquired about the availability of a two-blade shutter for the Fumeo 9140, and price.

Fumeo 9140

Marco’s response was yes. But the best was yet to come: Marco sent me the shutter completely free of charge. Today, this unexpected gift arrived, like a belated Christmas present. 

Thank you, dear friend Marco! Your generous gesture not only honors Fumeo but also leaves a mark on the SELLIER FILM FESTIVAL. For this reason, your name will be included in the list of collaborators for the IX edition of the festival.

This festival, by the way, remains true to its philosophy of not accepting public subsidies, as taxes should be directed to more necessary causes than funding film festivals. However, it is thanks to gestures like yours, dear Marco,  that we can continue celebrating the art of cinema in all its glory.

My friend Martin with other present for the festival: the Austrian-made glorious Eumig f 1.0 lens