Latest news with #Super8mm
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Reel Life: NFAI preserves the 8mm world of Jai Dordi Vakil
Discarding doesn't come easy to Delhi-based ethnomusicologist and archivist Shubha Chaudhuri. Which explains the boxes of vintage sarees and a suitcase containing black-and-white family photographs, some featuring faces even her 98-year-old mother cannot recognize. It took years, but she finally managed to clear out the Colaba flat of her mother's "pretty, practical and proper" elder sister, Jai Dordi Vakil, who passed away in 2022, two months shy of 100. Among the belongings, Chaudhuri—executor of her aunt's estate—uncovered a projector, Ganeshotsav slides, various untitled frames, and most notably, reels of 8mm and Super 8mm home movies that have now found a home at Pune's National Film Archive of India (NFAI). A popular amateur film format introduced in the 1930s, 8mm was compact, affordable and easy to use, making it the go-to medium for home movie makers long before digital video became accessible. Described by NFAI as "a window into mid-20th-century life," the reels chronicle a life well-travelled and quietly documented. "I don't know what's on the reels or what condition they're in," says Chaudhuri. "But I'm sure there's travel footage and shots of military planes that could be of interest," she adds, having donated the archive with help from her friend, architect-filmmaker Nachiket Patwardhan. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ready for a Glow-Up? [Get Your Reading Now] Undo Glow-Up Packages from $15 [Sign Up] Undo Affect Your Future Now! (Book Today) Undo You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Born in 1922, Vakil studied at St Xavier's College in Mumbai, learned French and later worked at the Indian embassy in Brussels. During a posting in Delhi, she met Air Force officer Jamshed Dordi, her future husband. Together, they travelled widely—across Africa, Japan, Italy, Hong Kong, Austria, Nepal and Bhutan, and within India to Gir, Bharatpur, Kashmir, Goa and Mahabaleshwar—footage of which now survives on her 8mm reels. Though not a professional filmmaker, Vakil—whom NFAI calls an "amateur filmmaker"—had a cinematic eye. "She was technically oriented. She would repair her own car," says Chaudhuri. "While she loved documenting her travels, she couldn't pursue a career in the visual arts as life kept her moving." Safaris, American highways, European streets--her flashgun lapped it all up. "She didn't have children. Whenever my mother and I visited, she'd set up the projector and play her films," says Chaudhuri, who also found a box of alphabet cutouts used to paste titles onto the reels. "Home movies offer glimpses into domestic and communal experiences," says Prakash Magdum, managing director, NFDC-NFAI. "They're fragments of memory, capturing cultural and emotional landscapes across time and class." Preserving such material isn't easy. "Celluloid often arrives with an unknown history—how it was stored, whether it was rewound or handled well," explains Magdum. "We stabilize and preserve it under archival conditions." Once digitized, curated excerpts may be made accessible to students and researchers. "We're already collaborating with cultural institutions and looking to expand engagement," says Magdum. Vakil's story is a reminder that the visual history of Indian cinema is shaped not only by stars and studios but also by women with cameras and quiet curiosity. "She put in effort labelling slides, camera gear, old photos," says Chaudhuri. After Jamshed's death in 1995, Vakil—who loved Western classical music and concerts—seemed to withdraw. "She had stopped labelling things after 2015. Though she had four cupboards full of pretty clothes, she would wear the same ten pairs. " Vakil visited Iran with friends, and once came to Delhi, recalls Chaudhuri. But that was that: "She wasn't one to travel solo."
Irish Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Wicklow film director to screen award-winning movie for first time in his home county
Director Robert Manson, from Redcross, is the founder of Ballyrogan Films, which was formed in 2015 to house his first feature film, Lost in the Living, the first of his Lost and Found trilogy. Holy Island follows 40-year-old David (Conor Madden), who is stuck in a run-down harbour town waiting for a boat to take him home. When all boats are cancelled indefinitely, he is left in a state of limbo. David doesn't know what to do until he meets fellow traveller 31-year-old Rosa (Jeanne Nicole Ní Áinle), who seems to know the inner workings of the city. The two are described as 'an unlikely pair' – Rosa is exuberant and David is burnt out, but both want to leave the island and get back to their lives. Rosa doesn't have a ticket for the boat, and she's determined to find one before it leaves. Rosa leads David further into town and together they traverse 'this strange form of purgatory'. They meet the islanders and piece together their past lives through shared conversations and memories as David is haunted by visions of his past, seeing people and places he thought he had lost. When David is confronted with a different version of himself, he is forced to make a decision. With time running out to find a ticket, Rosa must face her own past before she can attempt to escape the island. Both David and Rosa must try to regain their souls piece by piece before the boat finally sets sail. In the end, only one of them can be saved. Holy Island explores themes of death, loss, home, love, emigration, family, survival, redemption and loneliness. Contemporary archetypes and stereotypes of Irishness and national identity are explored through intergenerational encounters within this story. Commenting on the film, Robert said the main role of David is played by two actors, an idea which was taken from Luis Bunuel's The Obscure Object of Desire. "The first half is played by one actor, a sombre and melancholy performance. Then there is a change and a younger actor takes over the role for the middle and later part of the film; this character is softer, more vulnerable and compassionate. "The psychological change and development of the character of David is visually emphasised by this change of actor. The actors playing the role of David do not look identical, but they come from the same part of the world and have grown up similarly. This concept highlights an exploration of the concept of the duality of the self." The work is filmed in black and white, to depict 'the lifeless harbour city of 'Limbo'' and in key sections of the film, 'flickering patches of colour are inserted to represent moments when the screen, the locations and the actors come alive and rich again'. "Super 8mm represents past memories in those healing moments when the characters close their eyes and their lives flash before them. These are not their lives or their direct memories, but the transplanted images of a collective consciousness. Super 8mm archive footage from my father's archive was collected for these segments of the film. This bridges the visual gaps between the past, the present and the future. We shot sections on standard 16mm to connect all formats, 4K, 16mm and 8mm.' Film Ireland praised Holy Island as being 'reminiscent of so many Irish films made before it, but is undoubtedly and decidedly unlike anything that has come before'. On its release in the UK, the British Film Institute said it is a 'sometimes playful, sometimes twisted evocation of a culture with the gift of speech, and its verbal landscape is a potent purgatory for the uncommunicative David'. "Manson makes a contribution to the tradition of language as a site of modern adventurism and satire, which in Ireland stretches back to Joyce and O'Brien,' the institute's Ruairí McCann said. He adds that the film 'draws much of its strength from its side characters', including Les (Mark Doherty), 'a ferryman of souls in the body of a bullish taxi driver'. "Doherty gives a great rendition of pure, inexplicable passive-aggression, his every line laced with latent threat. Madden and Ní Áinle also make for an engaging central pair: their performances are complementary, with Madden delivering a minimalist, mumbling performance of a man who at first seems to be suffering from an almighty hangover, only to steadily reveal a deep spiritual sickness.' Robert will be joined by producer Claire McCabe at The Mermaid for a questions and answer session after the screening. Tickets for the 8pm show, Saturday, July 12, are available online for €10, at
CNN
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
‘Sinners' director Ryan Coogler takes us to film school in 10 minutes
Ryan Coogler's newest film 'Sinners' is already generating tons of buzz, and a lot of it has to do with a video shared days before the release. Last week, Kodak posted a 10-minute video that between YouTube and TikTok has racked up around 1 million views, in which Coogler makes complex topics like aspect ratios, film formats and sound design accessible and fun. He does this largely thanks to how the video uses his latest vampire-crime thriller hybrid 'Sinners' as the primary example. Coogler seems comfortable in professor mode as he talks through the different film formats in the video, while film strips of different sizes and a whiteboard chock full of detailed drawings are displayed behind him. His passion is clear as he starts off with a quick explanation of Super 8mm film, Super 16mm film and some technical terms. Regarding shooting on actual celluloid – which is increasingly rare in today's digital and video-centric age – he says, 'It's a format that I fell in love with when I was in film school, so I brought a few film strips here.' The 'Black Panther' director also mentions other notable recent movies that were shot on film, including Oscar-winners 'Anora' and 'The Brutalist.' After making sure everyone is up to speed, Coogler then explains how he and his team shot 'Sinners' on two camera systems: Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX. Ultra Panavision 70 is the widest format available and will crop the screen along the top and bottom, while IMAX is the tallest format and will crop on the left and right sides of the screen, the director says. Coogler's latest project draws on his Southern roots and family history to deliver a paranormal tale about two brothers who open a juke joint in their Mississippi hometown. The film is led by Coogler's longtime collaborator Michael B. Jordan, who plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack. 'Sinners' is only hitting screens nationwide on Friday, but it has already made history. This is the first time that a movie has been shot simultaneously with two different aspect ratios (as described above), and it's also the first time that a movie has been released combining both, Coogler specified in the Kodak clip. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who also worked on 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,' also became the first woman to shoot a theatrical feature film on both 65mm and IMAX. The film will therefore be available for viewing in several formats, with some showings shifting between aspect ratios depending on the emotion and intensity of a scene in select theaters – another first. Coogler hasn't shot on film since his breakout 'Fruitvale Station' from 2013 – which also starred Jordan – and his return to the medium is about more than achieving a shallow depth of field and high resolution, he says in the Kodak video. The filmmaker wanted to create a moving theatrical experience like the ones he experienced in his youth, he said. 'My parents was working class in Oakland, and it was the most affordable way for us to go out and have a good time. I still believe in that,' Coogler said. 'Sinners' opens Friday in theaters nationwide. It's distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which like CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
CNN
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
‘Sinners' director Ryan Coogler takes us to film school in 10 minutes
Ryan Coogler's newest film 'Sinners' is already generating tons of buzz, and a lot of it has to do with a video shared days before the release. Last week, Kodak posted a 10-minute video that between YouTube and TikTok has racked up around 1 million views, in which Coogler makes complex topics like aspect ratios, film formats and sound design accessible and fun. He does this largely thanks to how the video uses his latest vampire-crime thriller hybrid 'Sinners' as the primary example. Coogler seems comfortable in professor mode as he talks through the different film formats in the video, while film strips of different sizes and a whiteboard chock full of detailed drawings are displayed behind him. His passion is clear as he starts off with a quick explanation of Super 8mm film, Super 16mm film and some technical terms. Regarding shooting on actual celluloid – which is increasingly rare in today's digital and video-centric age – he says, 'It's a format that I fell in love with when I was in film school, so I brought a few film strips here.' The 'Black Panther' director also mentions other notable recent movies that were shot on film, including Oscar-winners 'Anora' and 'The Brutalist.' After making sure everyone is up to speed, Coogler then explains how he and his team shot 'Sinners' on two camera systems: Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX. Ultra Panavision 70 is the widest format available and will crop the screen along the top and bottom, while IMAX is the tallest format and will crop on the left and right sides of the screen, the director says. Coogler's latest project draws on his Southern roots and family history to deliver a paranormal tale about two brothers who open a juke joint in their Mississippi hometown. The film is led by Coogler's longtime collaborator Michael B. Jordan, who plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack. 'Sinners' is only hitting screens nationwide on Friday, but it has already made history. This is the first time that a movie has been shot simultaneously with two different aspect ratios (as described above), and it's also the first time that a movie has been released combining both, Coogler specified in the Kodak clip. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who also worked on 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,' also became the first woman to shoot a theatrical feature film on both 65mm and IMAX. The film will therefore be available for viewing in several formats, with some showings shifting between aspect ratios depending on the emotion and intensity of a scene in select theaters – another first. Coogler hasn't shot on film since his breakout 'Fruitvale Station' from 2013 – which also starred Jordan – and his return to the medium is about more than achieving a shallow depth of field and high resolution, he says in the Kodak video. The filmmaker wanted to create a moving theatrical experience like the ones he experienced in his youth, he said. 'My parents was working class in Oakland, and it was the most affordable way for us to go out and have a good time. I still believe in that,' Coogler said. 'Sinners' opens Friday in theaters nationwide. It's distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which like CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
