[Frameworks] Cinemalab (formerly Western Cine) ceases photochemical operations

[Robert Schaller]

In the end, it happened suddenly.  There had been difficult negotiations with an avaricious landlord for a few months.  It looked like it would be worked out, that there were at least three months before any move would need to be contemplated, but some ten days ago the landlord arbitrarily decided that he needed another $1,000 a month effective immediately.  It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, and the lab decided to say no.  A week ago was the final processing run; tomorrow the last things leave the building.

One of three processing machines is being saved, intended for a new artist-run lab in Denver.  I grieve for the others, but they were too big and there was no time.

So passes a lab that has consistently been a vital part of the experimental film world.  They printed many, many important and beautiful films from Brakhage's Interim in 1952 to Mothlight  to the work of Phil Solomon to Nick Dorsky's most recent work.  They will be missed, a casualty of a changing commercial landscape and, oddly, of the legalization of marijuana in Colorado that has driven up rent for warehouse space.

There are a number of optical and contact printers, optical sound recorders, etc., that have been saved.  Please contact Robert David, the owner of Cinemalab, at 303 783 1020 or robert.david at cinemalab.com for more information.

Meanwhile, Cinemalab continues it's digital mastering and film transfer work. In a much smaller space…

RIP, Cinemalab.


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