BY: Ron Prince

Not so long ago, celluloid film was about to curl up and die. But, despite the odds on an almost certain extinction, analogue filmmaking has rebounded in remarkable fashion. Forthcoming movie releases such as Wonder Woman 1984 (DP Matt Jensen ASC) and 007 No Time To Die (DP Linus Sandgren FSF ASC) were both originated on 35mm, and Tenet (DP Hoyte Van Hoytema FSF NSC ASC) was shot completely on 65mm. And, with its somewhat gentler rhythm of production, celluloid may prove just the tonic in a Covid-stricken world.

During the mid 2000s, film was increasingly shunned amid the headlong rush towards all-things-digital. Among the near-fatal blows, the increasing adoption of digital projection by cinema chains meant the traditional cash cow of bulk film prints for distribution, worth around $1.2billion, was under serious threat. It led to the closure of the many labs worldwide, including Deluxe and Technicolor, during 2011-13.

On the production side, a particularly painful punch was the 2006 declaration by the BBC that Super 16mm productions - such as City Of God (2002, DP César Charlone), Vera Drake (2004, DP Dick Pope BSC) and The Constant Gardener (part S16mm) (2005, DP César Charlone) - would never be screened on its new HD channel, due to issues with grain compression. Other broadcasters worldwide followed suit, much to the dislike of many filmmakers and cinematographers.

Faced with a shrunken market and dwindling sales, Kodak, one of the pair of filmstock manufacturers along with Fujifilm, voluntarily filed for bankruptcy in the US in January 2012. The very real fear was that film - an artistic medium for over 100 years - would simply disappear.

However, deemed too wondrous and unique an invention to be forever forfeited, voices began calling for its fortunes to change. On 22 February 2012, an event was held in the Turbine Hall of London's Tate Modern called 'A Celebration Of Film'. Attended by leading organisations and companies from the British film industry, over 800 professionals called for the protection of the medium of film in the digital age.

On the other side of the Atlantic, powerful, big box-office directors led the charge. J.J. Abrams, who had shot Star Wars: Episode VII on celluloid, Christopher Nolan, who used film on Interstellar, plus Quentin Tarantino and Judd Apatow, were among a group passionate film supporters who stepped-up to urge Hollywood to keep film alive.

In 2015, 18 months after it emerged from bankruptcy protection, Kodak reached pacts with Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony, NBC Universal and Warner Bros. to purchase undisclosed amounts of film that would be enough to extend Kodak's film manufacturing business. It meant the company could continue to make camera negative, intermediate stock for post production, as well as archival and print films.