Jason Stewart's graduation film documents the creation of our cinema and the establishment of the archive, showing the beginnings that laid the foundation for the “Das Archiv lebt!” series. This Is Not The End thus forms the linchpin of the entire film series. Jason Stewart, co-founder and long-time assistant at the Blauer Salon, created the film to capture the stories and processes behind the creation of our cinema. The filmmakers will be present in person for the Q&A and will provide insights into the implementation of this unique project, which not only shows our beginnings but also illustrates the idea of a living archive.
This Is Not The End
Three young cinema enthusiasts go on a road trip and visit different cinemas to save old, analog technology. In the process, the very own and soon forgotten stories of the cinema operators from that time come to light again. The result is a special snapshot of cinema, ten years after digitalization, in the middle of a pandemic, with many stories from the "good old days" and yet not just nostalgia. With the worries about the uncertain future of cinema, but also the confidence of many passionately active cinema people. And also a portrait of three anachronistic young people who, in the year 2020, are still completely burning for the long-dead analog cinema and therefore, against all the spirit of the times, are bringing the old back to life. The title "This is not the End" alludes to the core idea: Analog cinema will not completely end as long as there are still people who continue to deal with it, not only conserve it but continue to use it.
Supporting Film: Die HfG Wochenschau 18/4
We remember the HfG Wochenschau! These informative short reports were produced weekly by the cinema team in the winter semester 2017/18 and shown before the screenings in the Blauer Salon. We are exclusively showing the first newsreel from calendar week 4, 2018. One week of HfG - one week of total madness! In the fall of 2017, the HfG cinema team discovered hundreds of historical German newsreels in the basement of a cinema. When viewing this format, which informed viewers worldwide and up until the 1980s about current weekly events before cinema films, it became clear that the HfG immediately needed its own newsreel. Everything that happened in the building was documented every week and presented daily before the films in the Blue Salon.
We are very pleased that the filmmakers will be present in person this evening!