Cinema Reborn is a new film festival which has been developed by a community of cinema enthusiasts, experienced curators and programmers, filmmakers, screen historians and critics.
Cinema Reborn’s focus is on screen heritage and preservation. In its second edition, from 2-6 May 2019, in partnership with the Australian Film Television and Radio School, Cinema Reborn will present 22 programs of either recently restored films or, rarer, film archived-sourced film prints. All will be presented following best practice in the presentation of archival or screen heritage titles, and will reflect the originally intended experience of their creators.
Cinema Reborn is intended to shine a light on the long history of the art of the cinema, the world-wide activity of film restoration and the treasures that exist in the world’s film archives.
Digital technologies have freed the cinema from its past wherein its history and the treasures therein were locked up and unable to be seen. Now film archives around the world have embarked upon major digitalisation programs designed to retrieve the cinema’s greatest works and bring them to new audiences.
The work of the international community of archivists and conservators has now been complemented by the creation of special events designed to showcase this retrieval in optimum conditions.
CINEMA REBORN is the first Australian film event dedicated solely to screening the cinema’s restored masterpieces with particular attention paid to Australia’s film history. The event takes place at AFTRS, the only venue in Sydney capable of screening in all modern and ancient. formats.
All work is done by volunteer staff. This work however requires the raising of funds to pay the fees associated with screening archival material and to ensure that as well as screenings a comprehensive publication and information program accompanies all activity.
The acquisition of the program involves the payment of fees to archives and distributors who rightly seek a return on the costs they have undertaken in order to digitally restore their catalogues and make them available to audiences around the world.
CINEMA REBORN also takes considerable pride in publishing both in print and online a comprehensive catalogue containing original essays, reviews and background notes of its program.
All essays are provided gratis including by a number of the world’s leading critics and historians. Printing and publishing costs are met from funds raised from ticket sales and donations
