PODCAST | Cristiana Palmieri interviews Alyssa Bolsey, director of the film Beyond the Bolex.

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture

In the 1920s immigrant inventor Jacques Bolsey aimed to disrupt the early film industry with a motion picture camera for the masses: the iconic Bolex. Over 90 years later, filmmaker Alyssa Bolsey pieces together the fragments of a forgotten family archive to reveal the epic story of her great-grandfather. Interviewing family members and renowned filmmakers, Alyssa travels to Switzerland, and delves into Jacques’ personal diary, film reels and collected images in order to understand the man and his impact on generations of filmmakers (source beyondthebolex.com).

Beyond the Bolex: The Bolex camera has been a trusty tool for filmmakers since its introduction in the 1920s. In this personal film, Alyssa Bolsey delves into her family’s history to uncover the story of the camera’s inventor, her great-grandfather Jacques Bolsey. A Russian refugee living in neutral Switzerland during WWI, Bolsey developed the iconic Bolex as a way to democratise image-making. Archival footage and interviews with renowned filmmakers who still swear by Bolsey’s invention offer an ode to the man and his movie camera.

To discover more about the film, click here.