Karlstorkino Heidelberg: 
Stranger than Digital

In only two decades, cinema has changed in fundamental fashion: analogue 35mm projection has been almost completely replaced by digital technology. The complex film projectors, whose use required specialist training, are hardly produced any more – they are seen as relics of a bygone era.

At the beginning, euphoria predominated: no more film tears, no more scratches, sharper images, lower costs, easier operation and thus less training needed for staff. But soon a new question arose: if the same image quality is possible at home, why keep going to the cinema? Just for the shared experience? Then came feelings of nostalgia. Weren’t those small imperfections in the analogue image also an expression of life?  

In the meantime, supporters of 35mm film often appeal to more than just sentimentality. Digital images are often so sharp, so clinically precise, that the eyes misses the softer, denser 35mm images. Digital projection also brings its own problems – subtle distortions, especially during camera movements. Even films shot on analogue sometimes feel lifeless when digitally projected.

Regardless of how scratched and faded it may be, a 35mm print still stands in direct relation to the original – to the moment at which the light hit the film strip. It possesses a physical presence. It has an aura.

The Karlstorkino extends a warm invitation to audiences to spend a digital weekend. Five masterpieces of 80s and 80s American independent cinema will be screened, shot by directors who started their careers before the digital shift.

The weekend will be accompanied by a diverse set of additional events. Before the start of the film screenings, it will be possible to take a look at our projection room and learn more about the technique of 35mm projection. A lecture is dedicated to the development and significance of analogue film in the digital age. The program will be supplemented by a workshop on analogue photography, which also includes the use of an in-house dark room. A closing panel discussion with experts offers space for exchanging ideas about the big transformation from analogue to digital. (Ferhat Neptun)

At Karlstorkino Heidelberg