SAVE THE LAB!

Fellow Cinematographers and Film Enthusiasts in Scandinavia!

We’ll cut straight to the chase:

(For details how the current situation came about, see the end of this article).

The last commercial film laboratory in Scandinavia, Focus Film AB in Stockholm, is fighting an uphill battle for survival at this point! We in the FSF have decided to do our level best to support the lab and avert disaster!

Here’s what we’ve done: we opened a dedicated bank account specifically for this cause, and made a deposit of 3000 € to get things started. Then we published an article on this website to raise general awareness among swedish cinematographers that the situation at the lab was getting potentially dire, and urging everyone to pitch in. Happily, the reaction was swift and contributions started to pour into the account! The account has only been open a few days and already a respectable five-figure sum has been accrued. However, the target sum of 60 000 € is not yet in sight.

The continued support of cinematographers and film enthusiasts all over Scandinavia is important! Here’s what you can do. There are two options:

You can make an outright gift to this cause (bank details below) by depositing a sum in the dedicated account. Please label your contribution GIFT+Your Name (so we can easily identify you). Contributions smaller than 100 € we automatically assume to be gifts. Under Swedish law, gifts are exempt from taxation. This will probably be the easiest option for those not resident in Sweden.

If you wish to lend money to this cause, label your contribution LOAN+Your Name (again for easy identification). A round sum, say 1000 or 2000 € is preferable. The FSF will contact you regarding the loan agreement. For those not resident in Sweden this may entail implications that will have to be looked at in each individual case.

Regardless of which of the above options you choose, please send an e-mail accompanying your contribution to Roland Sterner, FSF, treasurer for the FSF, at: roland.sterner@telia.com

This way it’s easier for us to keep track of payments, regardless of technical details (some banks only allow for as few as 12 characters labeling the payment!)

Here are the account details:

Bank: NORDEA   Account number:   3206 22 858 09

Important! For international payments, you need the following:
(International account number)   IBAN:  SE87 3000 0000 0320 6228 5809
BIC-code (this is sometimes called SWIFT):  NDEASESS

Please label your contribution in accordance with the above recommendations.

Why is this fundraising needed? Here’s the back story.

Very briefly: at the end of 2015, the company STOPP in Stockholm ceased to exist (were bought by Mediamonks, another company). Ali Boriri, who has run the lab for the owner STOPP AB for many years then did a very brave thing: he bought the lab and continued to run it on his own (through his company Focus Film AB). In other words, at the end of last year Ali took a big financial responsibility to keep the lab alive!

However, just a few weeks ago, Ali had to accept that the Scanity scanner he was using was moved (by its owner) away from the lab. He did not own it as it was not part of the deal when he bought the lab. He can continue to use it where it’s located now about two months more, but then he won´t have access to it any more!

So, the Focus Film lab (Scandinavia’s last film lab!) desperately needs to buy a new scanner. There is one (Scanity) in the USA, and negotiations are under way, but money for the down payment (about 60 000 €) is desperately needed!

There’s no shortage of work. One Swedish feature shot on 35mm is in production right now and in Finland another feature is poised to start shooting in august. Commercials are shooting on film all the time.

Anyone and everyone who can help out here is desperately welcome, of course! And no contribution is too insignificant: if there are hundreds of us pitching in, even small sums make a difference.

Let’s do this now!

Contacts:
Lars Pettersson (at the FSF) +46 70 555 41 28 or
Ali Boriri (at Focus Film) +46 70 315 49 79

Sincerely,
The FSF  / The Swedish Society of Cinematographers