The Magic of 35mm Film
Cinema has changed more in the past three decades than it did during much of the twentieth century.
Film reels have given way to hard drives. Editing rooms have become digital workstations, while projectors now play digital files instead of threading strips of celluloid through mechanical gates.
Yet one format has refused to disappear.
More than 130 years after its introduction, 35mm film continues to occupy a remarkable place in filmmaking. It is no longer the industry's default format, but it remains the benchmark by which many cinematographers judge image quality. While technology has transformed almost every stage of production, filmmakers continue returning to 35mm for reasons that extend well beyond tradition.
That persistence raises an obvious question.
Why does a format developed in the nineteenth century still matter in the digital age?The answer lies not in nostalgia, but in the unique visual qualities, craftsmanship and archival reliability that have kept 35mm relevant for more than a century.
The Format That Defined Cinema
For much of cinema's history, 35mm was not simply one format among many. It was the format.
Introduced as a standard during the early years of motionpictures, 35mm became the foundation on which the modern film industry was
built. Silent classics, Hollywood epics, independent dramas and international
masterpieces all shared the same strip of perforated film running through
cameras and projectors.
Entire generations learned their craft around it.
Camera manufacturers refined it.
Laboratories perfected it.
Projection systems were designed for it.
By the middle of the twentieth century, 35mm had become the universal language of cinema.Its longevity was no accident. The format offered anexceptional balance between image quality, practicality and cost, making it suitable for everything from intimate character dramas to large-scale studio productions.
More Than Resolution
Conversations about 35mm film often begin with resolution. How much detail can it capture? Is it sharper than digital? Can modern sensors reproduce the same image quality? They are reasonable questions, but they miss what has always made film distinctive.
The appeal of 35mm has never rested on resolution alone. Unlike a digital sensor, motion picture film records light through a photochemical process in which silver halide crystals react to exposure, creating natural grain and subtle tonal transitions that many cinematographers continue to value. The result is an image that feels less engineered and more photographic.
For filmmakers, grain is not a defect to be corrected but an integral part of the image itself. Those tiny variations from frame to frame introduce texture, depth and an organic quality that digital cameras often strive to emulate. It is one of the reasons films shot on 35mm continue to feel visually distinctive, even in an era when digital cameras can achieve extraordinary technical precision.
Why Directors Still Choose 35mm
Digital cinematography has transformed filmmaking in undeniable ways. Cameras are lighter, workflows are faster and directors can review footage within seconds. For many productions, those advantages make digital the obvious choice.
Yet some of today's most respected filmmakers continue returning to 35mm film. Christopher Nolan has long championed its creative and archival value, while Quentin Tarantino remains one of its strongest advocates. Directors including Greta Gerwig, Paul Thomas Anderson and Damien Chazelle have also embraced 35mm when its visual qualities align with the stories they want to tell.
Their decision is rarely a rejection of digital technology. Instead, it reflects an understanding that different formats create different emotional responses. The texture of film can lend authenticity to a historical drama, warmth to a musical or quiet intimacy to a character-driven story. In each case, the medium becomes part of the storytelling rather than simply a way of recording it.
That is why the conversation is no longer about choosing between film and digital. It is about understanding what each medium can bring to the screen and selecting the one that best serves the story.
35mm in the Digital Age
The arrival of digital cinema did not mark the end of film. Instead, it changed the role film would play within modern production.
Today, many films combine both technologies as part of a single workflow. A production may be photographed on 35mm, edited digitally, enhanced with visual effects and finished through digital colour grading. Others begin life as digital productions before being transferred back onto motion picture film to create long-term archive elements.
The result is not a battle between old and new technologies, but a workflow that draws on the strengths of each. Digital production offers speed, flexibility and precision, while motion picture film continues to provide a proven archival medium with distinctive visual characteristics. Increasingly, filmmakers recognise that the most effective workflow is often the one that makes room for both.
Why Preservation Still Matters
The value of 35mm extends well beyond the images it creates. It also lies in the way those images can be preserved for decades to come.
Digital technology has transformed how films are produced and distributed, but long-term preservation presents a different challenge. Hard drives eventually fail, file formats become obsolete and digital archives require continuous migration simply to remain accessible. Preserving a film is not a one-off task; it is an ongoing responsibility.
Motion picture film offers something few digital storage systems can claim: a proven archival record. When properly processed and stored, film elements have survived for well over a century, allowing restorations that would have been impossible had those works existed only as digital files. That longevity explains why archives, studios and preservation specialists continue to regard film as one of the most dependable long-term preservation media available.
For many filmmakers, film is no longer valued solely as a capture format. It has become an essential part of preserving cinema itself, ensuring that today's productions can still be experienced by audiences many decades from now.
Keeping the Craft Alive
The continued survival of 35mm film depends on far more than the directors who choose to shoot on it. Behind every production is a network of specialist laboratories, technicians and engineers whose expertise keeps photochemical filmmaking alive.
Among the organisations continuing that work is CPC London. The company supports motion picture film services, archive workflows, positive print creation and film-out processes, helping preserve both historic film elements and contemporary digital productions. It is also developing a black-and-white direct-to-positive film printing system, reflecting a wider commitment to safeguarding specialist techniques that have become increasingly rare within the modern film industry.
That commitment extends beyond preservation. As interest in analogue filmmaking continues to grow, access to specialist equipment has become just as important as access to laboratory expertise. CPC London's sister company, Black Hire, recently announced the availability of a full suite of celluloid IMAX, VistaVision and 65mm camera systems. With twelve cameras available, formats once reserved for major studio productions are now within reach of a new generation of filmmakers exploring the creative possibilities of large-format cinema.
The Future of 35mm
For decades, people have predicted the end of motion picture film. Each new technological breakthrough has been presented as the moment when celluloid would finally become obsolete.That moment has never truly arrived.
Today, 35mm occupies a different place within the industry. It is no longer the default format for every production, yet it continues to be chosen whenever filmmakers value its distinctive visual qualities, its proven archival record and the craftsmanship it represents.
Its greatest strength has never been nostalgia. It is the ability to create images with a character of their own while preserving them for generations to come.
More than 130 years after its introduction, 35mm film remains one of cinema's most enduring achievements. It has survived changing technologies, shifting production methods and evolving audiences, yet it continues to inspire filmmakers who believe that how a story is captured is every bit as important as the story itself.