‘Call Me By Your Name’ Director Luca Guadagnino Says Digital Filmmaking Is “Laziness”

The film versus digital debate is one that is never entirely over. It has lain dormant for the past little while, but Luca Guadagnino, the director of the beloved “Call Me By Your Name,” has brought it back into focus. And to put it bluntly, he’s no fan.

The common argument against film, at least from studios and financiers, is that it’s too cost prohibitive. But Guadagnino says that notion is false, and adds that the push to digital has created an aesthetic sameness to cinema.

“I think it’s laziness. It’s an ideological lie of the industry to say ‘don’t shoot on film because it’s less expensive to shoot on digital’,” he told Screen Daily. “I see directors that I love, who have been making films forever on film, surrendering to the ideology of digital – it’s ridiculous, it’s a complete lie, and it makes me furious.”

The director doesn’t buy into those who say that shooting digital is any faster than shooting on cinema, and adds that the endless opportunities to keep shooting thanks to having a hard drive instead of a reel, misses the point about the artistry of filmmaking.

“… that’s a misunderstanding of what it means to shoot a movie,” he said. “I think the limitation of the reel is what makes the tension of the performance come off the screen. The limitation makes the character alive.”

So, you can put Guadagnino on the same team as Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, and Paul Thomas Anderson. However, we’re sure digital enthusiasts like David Fincher will have their own counter-arguments to share. Let us know what you think in the comments section.