Here's the full text of my write-up on Nolan's talk at the Tata NCPA theatre Mumbai, on April 1, 2018.
Celluloid can coexist with digital
Christopher Nolan, Tacita Dean & Shivendra Singh Dungarpur highlight why analog film should survive as an artist’s medium of choice.
1/4/2018, Mumbai
Nariman Point, Mumbai is always filled with eager tourists sitting on the shores of the Arabian Sea, hand in hand or on the boulders, posing for pictures. There’s another kind of visitor that soars above the sea of people, the black eagle; gracefully gliding with the cool currents of air from the sea. Seeing around, one finds a thick canopy of urbanisation. The eagle is a reminder of the beautiful organic world we were gifted; which we are rapidly losing in favour of mindless “progress,” unless we become conscious. The public event at the Tata Theatre, NCPA, on the eve of April 1, was a discussion of a comparatively analogous nature.
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The discussion was about dispelling the myths about celluloid film and creating awareness about the need for its existence in the digital world, as an artist’s medium of creative expression. The event began with the resounding footsteps of Shivendra Singh Dungarpur walking towards the dais from behind the curtains, to introduce the speakers. This is the man who recognised the urgent need to save India’s celluloid cinema heritage as it lay in neglect. He has helped restore Indian classics that would have been lost otherwise. His not-for-profit organisation, Film Heritage Foundation was presenting the fourth edition of ‘Reframing the future of Film,’ which began in 2015.
The event was sold out and it was easy to see why. Most Indian cinephiles had come to see Christopher Nolan in flesh and blood. He is one filmmaker who is perhaps as popular as any film star across the world. This was evident when he arrived, the previous evening, at the art deco Liberty Cinema, to present his film ‘Interstellar’ on 35mm film projection. A young crowd had repeatedly been chanting his name in Chorus. The reactions were equally heart-warming here.
The talk began with visual artist Tacita Dean, who like Nolan, only works with celluloid. She recalled how in 2011 she found to her shock that the laboratory where she used to process her films had stopped printing of 16mm film. This led to her founding savefilm.org and writing to filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, who still shoot on film, for support. She called it an existential crisis and said film is a medium of choice for an artist like herself, not a technology.
Mr. Dungarpur then asked Mr. Nolan to shed light on the misconception regarding the love for film being termed nostalgia. The ‘Inception’ filmmaker replied that “nostalgia” is a term people use to deliberately dismiss something by putting it in a box. He added that there was a propaganda to promote emerging digital cinema technology by trying to paint celluloid as a thing of the past; as antique and digital being synonymous with progress. He said that an artist should always have freedom of choice and not be forced to toe the line.
Christopher Nolan at the tata NCPA Theatre, Mumbai on April 1, 2018 crop lowrez.jpg
(From left) Jeff Clarke (CEO, Kodak), Tacita Dean, Christopher Nolan and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur (standing on stage).
Regarding the issue of whether the story was the most important element in movies, Nolan said cinema is a visual medium and filmmakers aren’t making radio plays or writing novels. The creation of the image is of paramount importance. That is where film as a medium of image acquisition comes into play. The medium should be important to the artist.
Nolan also brought attention to the fact that today, 4k televisions have caught up with 2k digital projection in cinemas. And there is something of an arms race going on as to which can look better. But the science behind digital imaging makes sure that apart from the difference in resolution, images in 2k or 4k feel the same. Film on the other hand, has a unique look that does not feel like television or a digital image. This is especially evident to filmmakers who are shooting and finishing movies digitally. They are watching a movie develop in a monitor rather than screen the rushes from developed film.
The 35mm print of ‘Interstellar’ that was projected at the Liberty Cinema in Marine Lines, on the second day of the ‘Reframing the future of Film’ event, was an outstanding showcase of the power of projected film. The images had deeper and richer colours with a soothing quality that digital projections lack; while also revealing fine details that don’t feel organic on digital.
Drawing an analogy with human visual perception, Tacita Dean said digital “sees” things while film “looks” at them intimately. Perhaps there is a disconnect with digital because unlike life, it isn’t an organic process, which film is. The silver halide crystals and chemicals react with light leading to the creation of a tangible visual material unlike digital, which exists in the digital space as ones and zeros and cannot be touched or held against the light.
The guests also talked about the fact that because film runs out, there is a discipline that develops. Filmmakers learned editing to create consistency of storytelling by thinking hard on the need to use run out film rolls effectively. With digital, there’s no running out and as a result that discipline of internalising editing may be hampered.
Nolan reminded his listeners that there’s no stable form of archiving digitally but a film negative lasts more than a person’s lifetime in proper climate controlled facilities. To this, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur highlighted the mournful state of film preservation in India where filmmakers prefer a digital archived copy than restoring/preserving the film itself.
Tacita Dean added she maintains a puritanical attitude on projecting films on film and not allowing digital copies of her work to be made. She also said there was a “digital exhaustion” setting in and people were waking up to the refreshing possibilities of watching something unfold on an organic medium like film.
Nolan added that the dialogue was no longer about film versus digital but about a need for the co-existence of both side by side and allowing the artist to be able make the choice. Tacita Dean said that in India’s case, the country needs a dedicated film museum that celebrates both celluloid art and celluloid cinema.
As for what it means to the exhibitors of cinema, Nolan said those that those that control the money, need to be shown that there’s enough interest from people in attending a celluloid screening and there’s economic potential in there.
The most promising announcement was made by Jeff Clarke. He is the current CEO of Kodak; the only remaining manufacturer of motion picture film. He said that they are going to create an ecosystem where shooting on film and processing it in India will become very much a reality for Indian filmmakers once more. This initiative will begin with the expansion of Filmlab, a post-production facility in Mumbai.
If one were to close with an analogy, Nolan, Dean and Dungarpur are like those black eagles. They have a sharp vision but are threatened by a world that favours “progress” by discarding everything that was organic and hence “old.” Thankfully, black eagles are not an endangered species.
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