The digital revolution began at the turn of the century when many Hollywood directors switched to digital filmmaking. The distribution aspect of the industry was quick to follow, and now that impending change has reached Salt Lake City. Currently, the Salt Lake Film Society is in the process of switching from film projection to digital projection. They are calling on the community to raise a portion of the funds required to make the switch, including a campaign on the fundraising website called Kickstarter.
“The film society has to convert to digital. It will take $700,000 dollars to convert all our theaters, meaning $100,000 for each theater. We are hoping for community donations to make up $250,000 of that. And of that $250,000, we are hoping for $50,000 to be made from Kickstarter. Right now, we are almost at $8,000 of the $50,000 goal,” said Tori Baker, Salt Lake Film Society executive director.
For those wondering if 35mm projection will still be an option, the answer is somewhat grim.
“They aren’t going anywhere. Question is, will they be used? No more content is being film printed on that format. It’s not going to be tomorrow, but quickly people will stop sending 35mm prints around the country to protect the original print,” Baker said.
That doesn’t exclude programs such as the Tower of Terror horror film screenings and the Summer of 35mm midnight shows. Those programs will be switching to digital projection as well.
“The very large studios tend to own the largest archive library. So the programs we do at late nights, those titles were the very first to be pulled from 35mm access. Hollywood is shutting that down,” Baker said.
They are opening up as many outlets for people to donate as they can. They have their Kickstarter campaign, which offers an online PayPal option. People can also show up at the theater and donate directly. Mailing and calling options are available as well.
The industry is changing, and the window of opportunity to meet those changes is closing rapidly.  Art houses, like the ones in Salt Lake, are the last theaters to make the transition to digital. This truly marks the end of the era of 35mm film projection. Even though movies will still be made in 35mm, it’s unlikely they will see the same kind of 35mm projection they are used to. It’s a sad time for many cinephiles, but it’s imperative that art houses meet industry criteria to stay in business.
Baker stressed the mandatory importance of this transition.
“It’s just really important that the community understands that this is not a choice for us. It’s very urgent. Had we not gotten moving, we would already be turning content down. For example, with the new documentary “Salinger,” they called us five days ahead of time to tell us it was a digital-only copy. Had we not already fundraised enough for two of our theaters, we would have had to turn that down,” Baker said.