Happily after a ‘reel film’ drought we have new newly released Rose of Nevada screening from a 35mm print this coming Saturday and Sunday. The film is directed by Mark Jenkins and produced by the BFI. This new release, like the director’s previous film Bait (2019), was shot on 16mm and blown-up to 35mm. I was only able to see Bait in a digital transfer but it was a movie worth watching.  Rose of Nevada comes with a lot of recommendations from critics and personally from friends who have already seen it. The travails and solutions of the 35mm projection system recently are set out with great clarity by the senior projectionist Mike Sharples in the Picture House Journal.  It is well illustrated and, of course, there are regular tours of the projection rooms with their two 35mm projectors.  Mike also refers to the help received from the Projected Picture Trust, whose archive in Halifax is worth visiting.

As Mike explains, 35mm films has a distinctive visual character and offer a special pleasure for cineastes.