Digital Technology in the Filmpodium Zurich

http://www.digitalcinemainfo.com/europes-finest-reelport_04_21_10.php

April 21, 2010

Source: Europe's Finest Reelport

With CINEMA OF THE MONTH, Europe's Finest will present one European cinema every month which makes a particular contribution to the world of digital films.

Filmpodium Zurich is the first cinema to show film classics in digital quality. In 2009 it initiated its first Digital Cinema Festival.

Comparing performances of digital and analogue copies – among them films by Europe's Finest – sparked discussions about differences in quality and technical advancements.

Andreas Furler, one of the directors of Filmpodium, explains his cinema's thorough examination of digitalisation: "We had – and still have – our back to the wall: many films are available only as inferior copies or not at all; the effort of securing them has grown exponentially. In comparison to home cinemas, the cinemas have temporarily fallen behind due to digitisation, so we are forced to act. Audiences cannot understand why they can watch films in cinema-like quality on DVDs or on Blu-ray at home, and why, at the cinema, they have to settle for a worn-out copy, often without subtitles."

Filmpodium Zurich is a cultural initiative of the Zurich Presidential Department in collaboration with Cinémathèque suisse, Lausanne. Since 1983 it has been housed in the former cinema "Studio 4". The building,
designed by Roman Clemens in 1948/9, is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings of classical post-war modernity. Its programme focuses on cycles and retrospectives of selected directors, actors, countries, topics and genres.

Homepage Filmpodium: www.filmpodium.ch

The full interview with Andreas Furler on the advantages and disadvantages of digital cinema can be found on the homepage of Europe's Finest:

http://www.finest-film.com/press