Filma
In 1959, Canelli and Salino, the owners of Cirse opened a new company in Rivoli. Initially the company was called Filma which also was the intented brand name.
Filma logo
Because of a dispute with Bell & Howell they could not use Filma as a brand. Therefore they introduced the Silma brand.
That was not the end of the Filma company. Until around 1966 "Filma S.p.A." and the Filma logo was still printed on documents such as warranty cards, manuals and patent files. Actually, both "Filma" and "Silma" was printed on those documents. From around 1966 "Filma" was removed and only "Silma" remained.
The following logo on the identification plate of a Silma/Filma compact 8 is unmistakably an "F". Possibly the very first series were marketed as Filma projectors or identification plates intended for Filma projectors were used for Silma projectors.
Logo on Compact 8
identification plate
The following brand mark was designed with Filma as the intended brand: an F combined with a film reel. It was left unchanged when Silma was introduced as the brand name.
Filma/Silma
brand mark
.png)
Popular Photography, 1961 vol 48
In the photo above and the sketch below, the brandmark is already depicted. You have to zoom in for better visibility but it is there alright. So there is no doubt that the brandmark was designed for Filma.
At the 1960 Photokina in Cologne (24 september - 2 October), three Filma prototypes were exhibited. Only the Compact 8 reached the production stage as the Silma Compact 8 (possibly briefly marketed as the Filma compact 8). The Amateur Cine World article about the Photokina below is from 1961.
Below are both sides of a warranty card for a Silma Compact 8 from 1965. There are refences to both Filma and Silma but Filma has a more prominent reference on the card. Maybe Filma was a holding company under which Silma operated until it became independant from Filma or until Filma went out of business.
.png)
*Carlo Colombardo
.png)
*Carlo Colombardo
The following image shows a Filma motor in a Silma 120M Super 8.
*Nick Vermeirsch
Below are two extracts of a Silma 120M manual. The first one is from a manual for both the 120M Zoom and the 120M Super 8. The Super 8 was marketed in 1966. In the bottom left corner it reads "filma" in small print so there was still a reference to Filma in 1966 (and possibly later). The second extract is also from a manual for a Silma 120M but the reference to "filma" is replaced by "silma" in the bottom left corner. Most likely the latter manual was printed after the cooperation between Filma and Silma had ended. Wether or not this was the end of Filma S.p.A. is not known.
Filma S.p.A. was also an 8mm film distributor for Castle Films. Below is the "Films Familiari"catalog for 1960 - 1961
