Film will survive as long as people continue to seek it out

Videoscope What are your thoughts on the importance of film preservation.

Mark Anastasio It's of the utmost importance. This is the medium — anything shot on 35mm deserves to be exhibited in 35mm. We need more people learning how to care for film elements and materials. Folks that are doing restorations — that's wonderful and I've seen some great-looking restorations — but I'm one of those people that claims no digital restoration can look better than original 35mm elements. There's something that we're losing with films going digital that I have not yet been able to articulate. There's a life and a movement and a vibrancy that a film print can give you — there are probably plenty of people that can technically refute this, but for me personally, film will always look better. Any sort of DCP just ends up looking — I mean, I've seen some that look fine, but there's something cold and lifeless about it.

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Videoscope What would you say to someone who insists that film is dead?

Mark Anastasio I would say that film is very much alive in our house. In the month of October alone, twenty 35mm prints went through our projection booth. Film will survive as long as people continue to seek it out. There are art-house cinemas all over the country who are keeping this medium alive. The people who say that film is dead are the same people who are killing it by staying on their sofas watching Netflix, instead of seeking out a true cinematic experience. Film isn't dead, they are.

Mark Anastasio, director de programação do Coolidge Corner Theatre, para a revista Videoscope, edição de Outubro 2017.

[Imagem: BDCwire].