Mario Amura (born 1973) is an Italian photographer and cinematographer.
Life and career Mario Amura was born in 1973 in Naples, Italy. He took cinematography classes at Centro sperimentale di cinematografia in Rome, studying with Giuseppe Rotunno.
He began working as a photographer in 1993. His early photographic work was collected in the 1999 publication Mario Amura – Fotografie 1995–1999. Starting in 2003, he has been credited as a cinematographer on the Luca Guadagnino films Cuoco contadino (2004) and Melissa P. (2005). Other credits include Sorry, You Can't Get Through! (2005), In memoria di me (2007), Draquila – L'Italia che trema (2010), and Into Paradiso (2010).
As a director, in 2003, Amura shot Racconto di guerra, a short film set in Sarajevo during the Balkan war. It was awarded the David di Donatello for Best Short Film the same year and the Ciak d'oro for best short film in 2004.
Since 2007, Amura has been working on a photographic live-performance research project titled StopEmotion, from which he later developed the application Phlay.
Since 2010, he has been the creator of the photographic cycle Napoli Explosion, which consists of large-format works capturing the fireworks celebration staged at the foot of Mount Vesuvius on New Year’s Eve. In 2023–24, the project was exhibited at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. Between 2025 and 2026, Napoli Explosion was presented in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Awards David di Donatello: 2003: best short film (won) – Racconto di guerra Giuseppe Rotunno Award 2005: best cinematography (won) – Vento di terra
2007: best cinematography (won) – In memoria di me Ciak d'oro 2004: best short movie (won) – Racconto di guerra
2007: best cinematography (nominated) – In memoria di me
Selected filmography As cinematographer Monna Lisa, short by Matteo Delbò (2000) La notte lunga, short by Paolo Sorrentino (2001) Generazioni d'amore: Le quattro Americhe di Fernanda Pivano, by Ottavio Rosati (2001) Coppia (o le misure dell'amore), short by Paolo Genovese and Luca Miniero (2002) L'ultimo rimasto in piedi, short by Ugo Capolupo (2002) Ritratto di bambino, short by Gianluca Iodice (2002) On est venu me chercher, short by Ilana Navaro (2003) E io ti seguo, by Maurizio Fiume (2003) Paesaggio a sud, short by Vincenzo Marra (2003) Cuoco contadino, by Luca Guadagnino (2004) Vento di terra, by Vincenzo Marra (2004) Sorry, You Can't Get Through!, by Paolo Genovese and Luca Miniero (2005) The Changing of the Guard, short by Serafino Murri (2005) Melissa P., by Luca Guadagnino (2005) Sabato, domenica e lunedì, by Paolo Sorrentino (TV – 2004) Ti lascio perché ti amo troppo, by Francesco Ranieri Martinotti (2006) Il vizio dell'amore, by Valia Santella (TV – 1 episode, 2006) L'udienza è aperta, by Vincenzo Marra (2006) In memoria di me, by Saverio Costanzo (2007) Solo amore, by Volfango De Biasi (2008) La seconda volta non si scorda mai, by Francesco Ranieri Martinotti (2009) Feisbum, episodes by Alessandro Capone, Dino Giarrusso, Laura Luchetti, Mauro Mancini, Serafino Murri, Giancarlo Rolandi, and Emanuele Sana (2009) Draquila – L'Italia che trema, by Sabina Guzzanti (2010) Due vite per caso, by Alessandro Aronadio (2010) Napoli 24 (2010) Into Paradiso, by Paola Randi (2010) La Brigade, by Cécile Allegra (2012)
As film director Portrait from a set (2014) Racconto di guerra (2003)
Publications Napoli Explosion. Vol. 1. (2023) Napoli Explosion. Vol. 2. (2025)
References
External links
Emoticron official website