Like the destruction of film that occurred after the arrival of sync sound film, thousands of film prints worldwide have already been junked. Similarly, while the BFI may have enough nitrate to wrap around the whole planet in their archive, too much of our film print history is already lost. Small, independent cinemas that have already removed their film projection equipment simply don’t have this luxury. Alexander Horwath should be applauded for saying, “I believe, as a museum, one the first missions or attempts you make is the best possible approximation of what they produced.” But, representing the Austrian Film Museum or being as famous as Christopher Nolan and Tacita Dean are, means wielding greater influence. The industry, for better or worse, has been discussing the “digital revolution” for the past five to ten years.
We live now in an attention economy where missing a moment means moving on. But, on the other hand, that independent cinemas – especially those that have already signed up to the VPF (virtual print fee) scheme, whereby distributors subsidise the costs of digital equipment with the funds that would previously have gone to freight and print management spending – should be able to insist on film print delivery, is extremely unlikely. Tacita Dean is right in saying, “In the art world, medium cannot be obsolete”, and Christopher Nolan’s array of press-ready quotes received much applause. That the medium itself is an art form is, on the one hand, inarguable. Though the presentation and points raised were well argued, one wonders how effective a call to keep photochemical film alive can really be after the roll out of DCI (digital cinema initiatives) has already taken place worldwide. Showing clips from Nolan, Dean and Peter Kubelka’s works, on film, Creative Director of the BFI, Heather Stewart, intended to dazzle and educate.
Tangerine 2015 genre arthouse archive#
Headed up by commercial, art and archive heavyweights Christopher Nolan, Tacita Dean and Alexander Horwath, respectively, the panel preached the virtues of film to a room of exhibitors, practitioners and cinephiles. It’s at least five years too late, but this year’s LFF included a sold out panel discussion on the importance of keeping film – specifically the photochemical medium, rather than the wider art of moving image – alive.
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