Film Forever

Christopher Nolan and his mission to revive celluloid filmmaking

- Priyanka Bhadani

For all the mind-bending thrillers that Christopher Nolan makes, it is his simplicity that defines him. He does not use a mobile phone or email, always carries a flask of Earl Grey tea in his coat pocket, has a small group of repeat collaborators, and, most importantly, makes all his movies on celluloid. The last of those obsessive choices brought the celebrated Hollywood director to Mumbai.

Whether it be the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, The Prestige or even his breakthrough hit Memento, his adherence to celluloid has reflected in his films. Such is his penchant for the method, that for his 2014 sci-fi flick, Interstellar, 240 theatres around the world were customised to project celluloid films two days before release. In India, Interstellar was never shown in the original format, until Nolan came to Mumbai. Special arrangements were made at Carnival Liberty Cinema for a screening of the 35mm print of the movie. Nolan had come with visual artist Tacita Dean to support the cause of film preservation at a three-day event spearheaded by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of the Film Heritage Foundation.