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Arts & Entertainment

Feature: A couple of LA projectionists still working with film on the big screen

filmreel2.jpg
Few projectionists these days are experienced enough to handle delicate film prints.
(
Eric Norris
/
Flickr
)

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Listen 21:05
Movies on film are having a resurgence. Guest host Austin Cross speaks to local projectionists about the craft.
Movies on film are having a resurgence. Guest host Austin Cross speaks to local projectionists about the craft.

The topic:

Movies on film are having a resurgence. Just take late year’s biggest movies: One Battle After Another, Sinners, and Marty Supreme. But the craft of screening movies on film is a dying one, with few projectionists experienced enough to handle the delicate prints.

A film stronghold: In L.A., it's the local repertory theaters that have helped maintain the art of film projection with many offering screenings of old movies on vintage prints. The task may be tedious, but for audiences, it’s a striking viewing experience.

Guests:

  • Spencer Christiano, a senior projectionist at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
  • Boris Ibañez, technical director of Vidiots, a repertory theater and DVD/video rental store in Eagle Rock
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