Cinema Futures (2016)

"Cinema Futures" is a provocative documentary exploration that delves into the dawn of the digital era and its impact on the cherished world of cinema. The film takes audiences on an intimate journey through the shifting landscape of the movie industry, chronicling the monumental transition from the age-old practice of projecting analog photo-chemical celluloid strips to the ephemeral realm of digital image data streams. Captured in a series of episodic vignettes and philosophical musings, "Cinema Futures" paints a panorama of future possibilities, cultural anxieties, and emerging utopias. It strips away nostalgia to reveal a profound love of the silver screen, even as it morphs into something new and uncharted. This cinematic odyssey also grapples with the implications of the "digital revolution," which arrived in the film industry heralded as a mere technological progression. However, as the traditional celluloid strips become relics of the past and the digital realm expands with a multitude of formats, the stakes become clear: the world's film archives teeter on the precipice of an ominous era, threatening the potential extinction of our collective audiovisual heritage. "Cinema Futures" poses the unnerving question: Are we in the throes of the death or merely the evolution of film? This documentary offers an immersive exploration of these seismic shifts, inviting viewers to contemplate the ever-changing face of cinema and its implications for our shared cultural memory.

Cinema Futures is a documentary movie directed by Michael Palm.

Cinema Futures is currently streaming on DocAlliance Films, GuideDoc and realeyz.

It is also possible to buy Cinema Futures on DocAlliance Films.