Starting from the 9th of December, the Geoffrey Donaldson Institute presents the exhibition Tot de laatste akte! (Until the last reel!). With this exhibition, the film institute in Noord-Scharwoude puts a spotlight on a special group of film lovers: the passionate private collectors of 16mm and 35mm film.
There are about fifty of these collectors left in The Netherlands; it’s a small world. Captivated by the magic of analogue film, they have saved countless films, projectors, posters, photographs and documentation from destruction. The medium has not only been under threat from vinegar syndrome and fire risk, but also from the distributors themselves. For years, it was the norm in The Netherlands to destroy (‘chop’) the films after their cinema run. Since the digitalisation of all Dutch film theatres and cinemas in 2012, the importance of their collections has therefore only increased.
The extraordinary collections of these private collectors will be shown to a large audience for the first time by the GDI. Numerous objects will be on display at the exhibition: cameras, projectors, photographs, articles and of course – especially – film. The exhibition will be accompanied by the book Tot de laatste akte! Film journalist Barend de Voogd was asked by GDI to interview nineteen private collectors about their life stories and their unique relationship with film. Photographer Marjolein Ansink caught the collectors in pictures.
The exhibition Tot de laatste akte! is open on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., and entrance is free. The GDI is closed from Christmas day until Tuesday, the 2nd of January, 2018. The book can be ordered for € 29,90 (plus and additional € 8,30 for shipping), from info@donaldsoninstituut.nl and will be for sale at the GDI. The GDI is located at Dorpsstraat 612 in Noord-Scharwoude.
